Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Spiral of Dreams
by unfledgedd
Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again.
1. Prologue

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Prologue

For generations, the arrival of human turned Pokémon meant that there was trouble afoot. All of these transformed humans were left with little to no memory of who they had been, or a clue as to what their purpose in the Pokémon world was. Most of the time they were soon paired up with another Pokémon who'd later become a close friend.

They often followed behind the idea of finding out who they were, their purpose in the Pokémon world, and the simple desire to help their new friend achieve their dream; the human turned Pokémon and their partner formed a Rescue Team or Exploration Team.

But before I tell you the differences between these two teams, allow me to tell you the fate of these human turned Pokémon.

Obviously, all of them had come to the Pokémon world in order to save it. Naturally they were unaware of this. It wasn't until much later that they discovered that they'd been chosen to hold back the darkness that threatened to fall over their world. Upon fulfilling their task, they were given the choice to return to the human world or stay in the Pokémon world. Most decided to stay due to how close they'd become to their friends and partner. Very rarely did these human turned Pokémon return to the world they once knew.

And most of the time they continued on their life as a Rescue Team or Exploration Team.

Exploration Teams, or commonly called Explorers, explored the vast world and its mysteries. It was their duty to chart uncharted territory and explore its secrets. Most of the time, explorers walked away with treasure chests filled with loot. Some walked away with no discoveries, or walked home with new members to add to their teams. Sometimes they walked away with both new members and treasure.

Rescue Teams helped those in need. It was up to them to rescue, retrieve, or catch criminals. It wasn't very often that they had the chance to go out into the world and explore it. They mostly spent their time in dungeons already discovered. They were like an extended part of the Police Force, but did more than just catch criminals.

As of late, there'd been a recent spike in a combination of the two teams. These teams, called RET (Rescue and Exploration Teams), took on the challenges of charting uncharted territory while helping those in need. It was tougher than being just an explorer or rescuer. I would know. My team was one of these combined teams.

And now, let me tell you my story…

-x-x-x-x-

She felt awfully nervous as she bowed respectfully in front of her master. Her eyes closed while she bowed her head. "The plan will begin shortly, Master. It won't be long now."

She could feel a shiver run down her spine as her masters dark chuckle echoed in the large, shadowed room they were in. "That's good to hear. What of the arrangements we made in order to… put our threats out of commission?"

The female Weavile raised her head to catch her masters gleaming red eyes. "Phase one has been completed thanks to your accomplice. Phase two is currently underway. Our 'guests' have begun appearing in our- err, I mean _your_ castle, and placed in their confinement cells. We've made sure that they will be unable to escape as each of their cells have been specially made."

"Excellent!" the voice boomed. "I'm very happy to hear that. Do you have anything else to report?"

"Yes," she said. She stood and signaled for the guards near the large doors to open them. As the Weavile spoke, three Pokémon approached them. "To add some support to your cause, I have enlisted the help of a particular team who swears loyalty to you and your cause. This is Team Poisonix and they've come forward with an offer to dispose of anyone who may find a lead on the missing Pokémon we have." Behind the Weavile bowed a Banette, Seviper, and Gothitelle. The Weavile looked back at her master. "I figured they could be of some use. What do you think Master?"

"I'm overjoyed with this idea you've presented before me. Once again you have surprised me. I approve. Welcome to the group, Team Poisonix. Does your team have a leader?"

"Yes," the Gothitelle spoke, keeping her head bowed. "I am the leader of Team Poisonix. My team and I are honored in to be in your presence, your grace. We wish to lend our strength to your cause."

"Wonderful." The voice said. "I will put you under the wing of my most trusted minion. Icy, I trust you will keep a close eye on them and their reports. You are hereby dismissed."

The Weavile, known as Icy, bowed her head. "Very well. Thank you Master."

Icy left the room with Team Poisonix not far behind her. As the doors closed behind them, the Gothitelle strode up beside Icy. "I see he enjoyed your idea. What do you think our first task should be?"

Icy eyed her from the corner of her eye. "For now I want you to remain close to the Rescue Teams and Exploration Teams Head Quarters. Keep an eye our for anyone who comes forward with a lead and quickly dispose of them. Alert me immediately if a potential force that you can't dispose of comes forward and I will handle them."

"I hardly believe anyone will be able to defeat us." Seviper said as he slithered next to Gothitelle. He was grinning. Banette agreed. "If they get caught in Seviper's grip, they're good as dead."

"That's good to know." Icy commented as they entered the dungeons. "I have high expectations of your team. It's the very reason why I presented you in front of our Master."

The trio jumped as a sudden _THUMP_ startled them. Icy glared at the cell to the right of them. Inside stood an injured Leafeon with their eyes locked with Icy's in pure hatred. "My friend will find me!" The Leafeon announced.

"Annabelle, wasn't it?" Icy mocked as she approached the cell. Annabelle backed away with a snarl. "I very much doubt your friend will find you. And even if they did…well, lets just say they wouldn't remain alive for very long."

"Y-y-you monster!" Annabelle gasped. Icy smirked and chuckled. She waved her off and left the room with Team Poisonix trailing not far behind her.

Annabelle's ears drooped as she frowned. She slumped onto the ground and buried her face in her paws. As she drifted off into a light sleep, she murmured the name of her partner. "Vivian…"

-x-x-x-x-

A/N: This little idea came to me after I finished playing Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky again. How do you all like it? There's sure to be more twists later in the story. Chapter one should be coming shortly. Sorry. D: I updated this chapter after seeing that there were a few mistakes. Also, this version of PMD will include _all_ the Pokemon - new _and_ old.


	2. Celine The Fennekin

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 1: Celine The Fennekin

A young riolu was outside of his house when the earthquake suddenly hit. Caught off guard by the sudden violent tremors, the riolu fell on his butt and remained there until the earth settled down. "That's the third one this month…" he murmured to himself. He looked back to his house to see if there was any visible damage. When he found none, he nodded approvingly and got to his feet.

But then there was a sudden flash of light that startled him. He spun around just in time to see a ray of light appear in what he believed was the center of the forest. "Aiden!"

He looked up the dirt path to see a female meowstic running towards him with a worried look. Her name was Lizette; the two of them were childhood friends. He nodded in greeting. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he said. "I'm fine. Just a little shocked. That has to be the third earthquake this month."

She nodded in agreement. "The towns a little spooked about it themselves. One of the elders was running through the center claiming it was the end of the world."

"It might be." Aiden chuckled lightly. "Unless a solution presents itself."

"That's what everyone's hoping for." She looked around cautiously and leaned in, whispering, "I've even heard rumors that there are some pokémon claiming that the case of these natural disasters is based on an 'improper' balance."

Aiden rolled his eyes and dusted himself off. "And, pray tell, what is this 'improper' balance?"

"The legends – you know, about the pokémon who claimed they were human before they appeared in our world. Some pokémon are convinced that their being here is setting off our balance." Her ears drooped when Aiden turned his back to her. "Aiden, you don't really think that I'm one of those convinced Pokémon, do you? Or… are you convinced?"

"I don't think either," he said looking back at her. "I just don't think that's the case at all. We had a problem similar to this a long time ago. And, if the legend is right, a human was sent here to _save_ and _restore_ the balance. So I don't think it's because there are pokémon among us that were once human."

"I agree!" she smiled. "It's just a shame nobody else believes it."

Aiden waved his hand dismissively. "Who cares what they think? For every pokémon who is stupid enough to believe that is a pokémon that actually has a brain and realizes that's not the case at all."

"Where are you going?" she asked, watching him as he walked towards the forest. "For a walk! I'll be back later!"

He sighed as he walked through the forest. That was the third earthquake this month, and it was very concerning. When he added that to the recent disappearances and the rumor about pokémon going to sleep and not waking up, he could vaguely understand why everyone was jumping to the wrong conclusion. But, however, he couldn't really believe them. From what he heard, every pokémon that disappeared without warning was a pokémon who claimed to have been a human before. Better yet, they were leaders of top-notch exploration or rescue teams who'd been known to stop a major crisis from ending the world.

He felt bad for the Pokémon in those teams. Their leader and friend went missing for no explanation, and everyone was giving them a hard time by blaming their leaders for all the recent troubles.

Eventually he came across a clearing. Over the years it'd become a safe heaven for him. It was a place where he could sit down and enjoy the peace and quiet. It also served as a place where he could practice his fighting skills without interruption. Some called him a loner because he spent so much time there, but he didn't care. He preferred the silence over the annoying squabbling that went on in Town Square.

The trees, colored in odd shades of blue and green, were swaying harmoniously with the wind. He'd been walking along the dirt path that could lead further into the forest, or if he went back the way he came, back to his small home and towards the small town known as Cyalis. Along the right most part of the path was a small clearing cleared of any trees. Instead, there was a pond; it was clear, sparkling just like a crystal untouched by Mother Nature's occasional furious hand.

He was about to sit down under his favorite tree when a particular sight caught his eye. Not too far from the pond lay an unconscious fennekin. Alarmed, Aiden ran over. Just as he reached the fennekin's side, he could see that she was beginning to stir.

"Are you alright?" he asked with a tilt of his head.

"I think I'm fine," she responded. "Wait," she looked at him in absolute awe, "you're talking! Since when were riolu's able to talk like us?"

Aiden gave her a bewildered look. She stared at him with confusion. "…What?"

"Uh, last time I checked we've always been able to talk like this. Who in the world are you referring to when you say 'us?'" he asked.

"Humans," she responded.

"Are you…feeling okay?" he asked with a skeptical look. She raised her eyebrow at him. "Yes. I do. Why?"

"Because it sounds like you're convinced you're a human."

Suddenly, she burst out into a fit of laughter. Aiden took a few steps back. _Okay,_ he thought to himself, _I think someone let her out of the loony bin a little too early._

After about five minutes of laughter, she finally began to settle down. She wiped a tear away. "Well, the reason why I'm convinced I'm a human is because I _am_ a human. It would be kind of sad if I didn't know what I was, wouldn't it?"

He didn't know how to respond to that. "Are you an actor?"

She shot him a look. "Excuse me? I am no actor."

"Well then," he said, taking a few more steps back, "no offense, but you look more like a fennekin than a human to me."

He could tell he must've hit a nerve because she suddenly froze. She was still smiling, which was creeping him out even more. "What? No, I'm no fennekin. I'm a regular, plain, boring human. See?" she raised her paw for emphasis. That's when she took notice it wasn't a hand, but a paw. She stared at it blankly as if she were registering it for the first time, which, in reality, she was. Suddenly she jumped to her feet and zipped past him towards the pond. Unfortunately, it appeared she wasn't used to walking on all four legs and tripped, rolling all the way into the lake.

Aiden ran over to the edge of the pond. Thankfully, she had landed in the shallow part of the pond. He was about to ask if she was all right when she started screaming. He winced and covered his ears. She jumped out of the water and scrambled away from it like it were the plague. She stuttered in her attempt to speak, "W-what happened?! _Why_ am I pokémon?! I don't understand any of this!"

She then collapsed on the ground and started bawling her eyes out. "I swear I'm not crazy! I'm a human! I _was_ a human!"

He stood there dumbfounded. Carefully he walked over to her and sat next to her crying form. He winced, feeling a part of his heart breaking when she looked up at him tearfully. "I'm not crazy…I promise! I…I was a human!"

"I don't think your crazy…well, okay, maybe a little," he admitted sheepishly. "I just never thought it was really possible – a human turned pokémon, I mean."

"What…? What do you mean?" she asked, hiccupping slightly.

"There's a legend," he began, "of humans turning into pokémon and descending into our world. It's said it means that our world is in grave danger and it's up to that pokémon to save the world. But I honestly believed it was just a pokéstory to tell kids before their bedtime. I still don't know if it's true or not, but now I'm having second thoughts…"

Her crying stopped, much to Aiden's relief. But now she had her head tilted with a look of confusion written all over her face. "There are others like me?" he nodded. "So… does that mean I've come to save your world or something?"

He shrugged, unsure of that himself. "I'm not sure to be honest, but when I think about it… there have been strange things going on."

"What kind of strange things?"

"Some pokémon have been disappearing lately. From what I've heard, they're all pokémon who've claimed to be human once before. Oddly enough, they're leaders of famous exploration or rescue teams. There's also been the unusual amount of natural disasters in the area. A lot of pokémon have either gotten hurt or really upset because of it – even to the point where they've started attacking others. And finally, there's been some cases where pokémon have gone to sleep, but haven't awakened. A friend told me that these pokémon look like they're in a deep sleep, but they're physically struggling, moaning, and groaning as if they were in a nightmare." He looked at her when he was finished. "I'm not sure if your being here has anything to do with that."

"There's a lot of pokémon suffering, isn't there?" she murmured, lowering her head. He nodded. "I want to form a rescue team." She stated, causing Aiden to look at her in surprise.

"You want to make a rescue team?" he asked. "Why?"

She fidgeted. "Well, can you ignore people when they cry for help?"

"No, but you just came to our world!" he countered. "You have little to no idea how to walk around or even use your powers. And, not to mention, you don't know anyone here. Why do you feel obligated to help us?"

"Can you really ignore the cries of those who need you?" she repeated and glared at him. "Can you walk around knowing there are people who need you? People who need saving, a hand to hold, a comforting shoulder? Can you _really_ ignore all of that? I know that I'm new here; and you're right, I don't know how to walk or use whatever power I have. But I don't need to know anyone here in order to have the desire to help them."

She smiled and raised her paw towards him. "Even before I was turned into a pokémon, I've always wanted to help others. Furthermore, if what you told me is true and every human who came here was transformed into a pokémon in order to save your world, then that case could very well apply to me. Now, will you form a rescue team with me?"

"I don't even know you." He said, eying her paw, "So why should I help you? Why don't you ask someone else to form a rescue team with you?"

"Because you seem very smart to me, and you're the only one I know right now. It's not like I can walk to town for help. I don't know these areas like you do. And getting to know each other is really easy. My name is Celine, what's yours?"

He looked at her, then her paw, then back at her. Sighing, he took a hold of her paw and shook it. "Hello, Celine. My name is Aiden, and I'll help you with forming a rescue team."

-x-x-x-x-

_A few weeks later…_

Celine was sleeping soundly when Aiden came running through the door. He ran over to her and gently shook her. "Celine! Celine, wake up! There's something going on at Town Square!"

She opened one eye. "And why must we hurry?"

"Because there's someone claiming that their teammate was a human! Before I left to get you, I heard she's looking for some aid in the search for the disappeared pokémon." Her ears perked up at his words. She lifted her head a moment later. "Then what are we waiting for?"

It took them about three minutes to reach Town Square. The Town Square was rather big. There were various shops with a variety of things to sell. During one of their earlier trips, Aiden made sure to show Celine the most essential shops that they would need for their adventures. He also showed her what he called the 'gossiping center,' which was right next to the well in the center of town. He told her that it wasn't just a place for gossip, but for announcing things as well.

"You're getting better," he commented. She looked confused for a moment before it dawned on her. He was talking about her walking. Over the past few weeks, he'd been helping her adjust to her new body and skills.

She smiled at him and raised her head proudly. "That's because I've had an excellent teacher." He rolled his eyes, chuckling at her little display.

"Aiden!" Aiden smiled at the sight of one of his old friends. Lizette came running up to him with a big smile on her face. "You're just in time. Thing's have gotten a little… heated since you left. If you're going to go up front to see what the commotion is all about, I'd be careful. Team Poisonix is starting another feud. This time it's with an absol named Silver and a ninetales named Vivian."

"They're at it again?" he groaned. "Team Poisonix is nothing but trouble," he said to answer the questioning look he was getting from Celine. "They don't help anyone unless they get a big reward. And most of the time they put pokémon _in _danger than take them out of it. Nobody really likes them – especially their Seviper. He's a major showoff."

Suddenly there was a shout, "They are not a danger to our society!"

Aiden and Celine exchanged looks. "Excuse us," he nodded towards Lizette as the two pushed their way through the crowd. When they got to the front the first thing they saw was the ninetales. She was sitting properly with her tails curved to the side so that nobody stepped on them by accident. Sitting beside her was an absol. He looked calm and collected, but his friend was glaring at the trio of pokémon before them. Around each of their necks were what Aiden and Celine suspected were their exploration or rescue team badge: a star with black wings.

"Humans turned into pokémon are indeed dangerous," their seviper chuckled as he slithered forward, "or are you ignoring all the trouble we've been dealing with as of late?"

"They appear to save us from those problems and to bring peace to us," the ninetales countered, "you're just looking down on them because you're one of those groups who despises their very existence. You have no proof that any of them are behind our troubles. Most of them are really nice; most of them have put their lives on the line to make sure that our world lives another day. Or have you not heard of the dangers in which they have saved us?"

This time a gothitelle waltzed forward with a smirk. "And you're just defending them because your human _partner_ brainwashed you."

"Yeah, she really brainwashed me into helping her save Treasure Town and everyone we know from Diagla's wrath. Oh, and she made sure that I put myself in harms way."

Her ears drooped. "I care not for what you believe, but I do know one thing. My partner is not evil – she embraced everyone she met. She helped to show people suspected of criminal acts were only trying to help and put the real bad guys behind bars. Wouldn't you agree, Silver?"

Before he had the chance to respond, the banette chuckled darkly. "Are you referring to that grovyle thief? In what terms was he good? He nearly destroyed our world!"

"Those who do not know their facts should keep their tongues still." Silver said with narrowed eyes.

"We don't need to know them or their 'facts' to know that they're evil. If I recall… wasn't there a pokémon who attempted to stop the natural disasters before? It's clear they've failed since we're still suffering from them. Oh, let not forget the innocent pokémon who have fallen into a deep slumber and have yet to wake. Tell me, Vivian, where is your human partner to save the day?"

Vivian was silent. Her face didn't falter when the pokémon around them began whispering in agreement with Team Poisonix. Silver, on the other hand, was looking around in disbelief. He snarled at Gothitelle. "See? Your so-called 'friend' isn't here to help us at all. If your word was true then they'd be here to help the poor innocents suffering from natural disasters and their loved ones eternal slumber."

Vivian stood, immediately alarming the three pokémon in front of her. "I have reason to believe my friend was kidnapped. Anyone who has claimed to be human before has disappeared for no reason. And it's not because they dislike us because if they did they wouldn't have helped us at all. The partner – no, the best friend I have come to love, would not turn tail and run the moment things got dirty. Oh, before I forget, you have no idea whether or not another human was called down to help save our world."

She turned her attention to the surrounding crowds. "Any of you could ask anyone who has had a human partner. They would tell you the same thing I have – that they are not evil. Anna…Annabelle risked her life for all of us. She chose to stop Diagla – even if it meant she could disappear forever. She doesn't think of herself as a human. She thinks herself as one of us. Will any of you help me in my quest of finding my fellow teammate and friend?"

Nobody took a step forward. Instead they looked at each other and whispered. The look of hope was slowly disappearing from Vivian's face. She looked at Silver who frowned in return. "Very –"

"I…I believe you! And I want to help!" Everyone looked over to Celine who immediately winced under everyone's gaze. A second later Aiden took a step forward. "I also believe her."

"You two are just delusional children who should stay at home." Banette chuckled. Vivian ignored Banette and approached the two pokémon. She was smiling as she spoke, "I'm grateful that someone here believes me. And I'm glad to know someone will help."

Celine returned a smile. "You don't need to know someone personally to have the desire to help them."

Gothitelle and her gang sneered. Silver shot them a glare. "I wouldn't pay any mind to them," Aiden said, pointing a thumb in Team Poisonix's direction, "they're more trouble than they're worth. They've spread lies around before – I wouldn't be surprised if this whole 'humans are evil' gag is also a lie."

"Why I ought to…" Seviper began, but was cut off by Gothitelle moving her hand in front of him. "If that is what you want to believe, child. I'd watch your back if I were you." With that, the trio left the area.

Celine's ears drooped. "I have a bad feeling about that gang… would they seriously hurt us?" she asked Aiden who shrugged in response.

"We wouldn't let them." Vivian smiled. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I caught your names."

"I'm Celine and this is my friend Aiden!" Celine chirped happily. "We're also a new team – Team Cosmic! What's your name?"

"My name is Vivian and this is my friend, Silver. We're both members of Team PokéStars. As you may have heard we're looking for our leader and dear friend, Annabelle." Vivian responded.

"Whoa, wait," Aiden said as he raised his hands, "Team PokéStars? _The_ Team PokéStars who stood up against Diagla?"

Vivian laughed lightly. "Yes, we're that very team. Though it was really just Annabelle and I. Well, mostly Annabelle. I was just there for support."

"How long are you planning to stay?" Aiden asked. Vivian frowned; she hadn't thought of that. She looked over to Silver, but only received a shrug. With a sigh, Vivian looked back at the two. "Honestly, I'm not sure. We set out the day after we discovered that Annabelle went missing. We really didn't think much about anything else. We'll probably be staying at a nearby resting place, if they have one."

"How about you stay with us?" Celine asked. Aiden shook his head. "Before you ask others if they want to stay with us, please ask me first. But either way, you can stay at my place if you need too. And don't give me grief about how you'll be imposing on us because honestly you won't."

He noticed the look that Celine was giving him. "We also have something we want to talk to you about."

Vivian looked between the two, a look of suspicion appearing on her face. She nodded slowly. "…Alright, I shall hear you out at your place. Silver, do you mind staying here and seeing if anyone will be interested in helping us?"

"If they didn't approach us now, why would they approach us later?" he grumbled. She stared at him calmly. "Remember what Anna used to say?"

"That people are too nervous to come forward in front of a crowd, yeah, I remember," he sighed. "I'm not going to give up. Even if the townsfolk don't help us I'm still going to look for Annabelle and everyone else that went missing." Vivian said. She looked back at the two young pokémon and nodded.

Just as they passed the crowd, Lizette came running up beside Aiden. "Team Cosmic, eh? Never pegged you for being a rescue boy."

"Liz, shut up." Aiden grumbled. Lizette laughed and punched him on the shoulder gently. "Oh, I'm just teasing!"

"Can you do me a favor?" he asked, looking over in her direction. She nodded. "Could you stay with their friend, Silver, in case he needs anything or if he wants to find my place?"

Lizette frowned for a moment, but quickly replaced it with a smile. "Certainly! I'll see you later!" She turned and ran off, but not before giving Celine one last look.

The trio finally reached Aiden's place. He gave Vivian a short tour. It was a small place, but big enough to house four or five people. The house wasn't dressed up in anything fancy; it just held the bare essentials. Vivian looked a little surprised, but Celine wasn't. Instead, she looked rather bored.

"He doesn't want to 'spoil' himself," she quoted, winking at Vivian who chuckled in response. Aiden glared at her, a small blush creeping onto his face. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to live a simple life!"

"I never said there was~" Celine sang as she brushed past him. His blush grew deeper in shade. Vivian couldn't help herself and chuckled. She thought the whole scene was adorable.

They entered the living room. Everyone, except for Aiden, had taken their seats. Aiden excused himself explaining that he would get everyone some drinks and would be back momentarily. While he was gone, Celine started what she expected to be a long, but informative, conversation. "We, or rather I, wanted to talk to you because I believe it's something you'd understand better than anyone else here. You see…I am… or _was…_ a human up until a few weeks ago. I don't know why I'm here, or even _how_ I got here. I just remember going to bed one night and waking up the next as a pokémon. I asked Aiden about it and he told me that there were legends of humans who turned into pokémon and came to this world in order to save it. What do you think?"

Vivian looked surprised at first, but soon nodded in understanding. "I can't answer all your questions unfortunately, but I'll answer what I can to the best of my ability. When Annabelle first came here, she didn't know much other than her name and that she was human. She wasn't even really told about what she was trying to do until we were dragged into the future with her past partner, Grovyle. When we got back… she was aware of her purpose: to collect the time gears, find the Hidden Land, and stop the planets paralyze. That was her case. I'm aware that there was another case where a human turned pokémon came to the world to stop the natural disasters, but I didn't look into it too much."

Celine frowned; she had hoped to get a little more information than that. Vivian, sensing this, continued on. "But from what I've heard, each human that came into our world came here to save it in some form or another. So it's very much possible that your duty here is to help the pokémon world."

"You really think so?" Celine asked hopefully. Vivian nodded. "I think it's possible. Just give it time – I'm sure you'll be able to tell whether or not that's why you're here. But," she paused, "I would not go around announcing that you were originally human. Anyone who came forward with that claim has vanished without a trace. And I have reason to believe someone is kidnapping them. For what, I'm not certain, but I just find it odd only those who made a claim have vanished."

"I agree." Aiden said, entering the room with three glasses of water and some apples. "That's why I rather we have this talk here. But you are aware you might draw unwanted attention for saying that you're going to be looking into the disappearances, right?"

Vivian nodded sadly. "Yes, I'm well aware of that. It's part of the reason why I brought Silver with me. He's the type who likes to know his environment and use to against those who try to harm us. Plus, it's nice to have someone who can sense disasters before they strike. Him and our fourth member, Radia, are excellent with sensing an ambush before it even strikes. Radia stayed behind though to keep order amongst our members and to keep an eye out for any news regarding Annabelle in our hometown. But you two are aware that by doing what you did earlier that you've possibly brought unwanted attention on yourselves, right?"

Aiden and Celine exchanged worried looks. "I'm sorry, it's my fault." Celine blurted out. Aiden, in turn, shook his head and set down the plate he'd been holding. "It's fine, Celine."

"If it makes either of you feel better, Silver and I can protect you." Vivian smiled. "You've been so kind to offer us a place to stay for the time being; it would be wrong to not help you in return."

"We wouldn't want to halt you in your search for your friend." Aiden said. Vivian shook her head. "You wouldn't be halting us at all. In fact, if anyone were to attack you then they'd give us a possible idea as to who is behind the disappearances."

"That sounds like a good idea!" Celine said, smiling brightly at Aiden. "Now we don't have to worry about that awful Team Poisonix."

Aiden offered a small smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. Vivian noticed this, but said nothing. "How about we go and practice a little today, Celine? Or do you feel up to doing our first mission?"

Celine jumped to her feet excitedly. "I think it's time Team Cosmic tried their first mission!"

"Good," Aiden chuckled as he took a sip of his water. "I got us the easiest mission possible earlier today."

-x-x-x-x-

Sorry for the late update. I've been doing a few things – college, super bowl prep, and recovering from my sickness. I've also been working on the new cover for this story. Also, thanks to the reviews! Especially yours, **Faria**! I've tried doing what you spoke about in your review and hopefully I didn't fail too badly. xD I hope to get the next few chapters up soon, but that might take some time considering I haven't been feeling well as of late. But thank you for your patience!


	3. The First Mission

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 2: The First Mission

"Well, I'd say that mission was a great success!" Aiden announced proudly as he entered their house. Behind him followed an exhausted Celine. She was panting, almost crawling after her partner.

Aiden looked over his shoulder and chuckled, "You really do need to study your weaknesses and strengths a bit more. Oh, and you need to stop running from them because they're going to catch you eventually. It's best to attack first before the enemy."

"You tell me that _now!_" she cried. She blushed in reminiscence of what happened earlier that day. Most of the mission had been a complete success – until the very end, of course. At the end awaited the criminal they were sent to reprehend: panpour. Celine had rushed forward without thinking and nearly paid the consequences for it. Thankfully Aiden saved her and handled the panpour on his own.

Celine sighed silently as she sat in the living room. Aiden went into the kitchen to retrieve some drinks. Vivian and Silver must've been in there because she could hear Aiden greeting them.

"You're injured!" Celine's ears perked up. "Oh? I hadn't even noticed it!" she heard Aiden laugh. "Don't worry too much about it – it's just a scratch. I'll take care of it in a minute," he said entering the living room. He looked over to Celine to see her ears were drooped and she was wearing a pained expression.

"You're hurt…?" she asked. Aiden chuckled half-heartedly and placed down the two glasses of water he'd been holding onto. "It's just a simple bruise. Don't worry about it."

"But..." she frowned, noticing the bruise. She looked at him. "I'm sorry. This is my fault."

"Celine, I'm fine, don't worry!" he smiled. He held up his injured arm to reassure her. "See? It doesn't hurt at all!" he winced slightly, but quickly covered his pain with a big, goofy smile.

Celine didn't buy it. She offered him a weak smile. "You didn't need to bring me a glass of water," she said as she eyed the glass. "I'm actually thinking of taking a walk."

"Oh, okay. Let me just finish-"

"No, no. Take care of your wound and relax. It's just a walk. I'll be back before dinner!" she winked as she ran out of the room and out of the house.

-x-x-x-x-

Her feet carried her all the way to the library. At first she was confused, but then realized that she had little to no knowledge of pokémon and their types. She just knew what Aiden taught her and those were just the basics of fighting.

Resolved to find more information and prevent further mishaps in the future, she entered the building. She hadn't seen Gothitelle and the rest of her gang sitting further down the path. "Isn't that the child that stood up to us yesterday?" she asked.

Seviper nodded, a sadistic smile spreading across his features. "Yes, it was her. Her and some other brat. I do wonder what she's looking for in the library…" he trailed off, looking at his partners.

Banette got the hint and grinned. "Shall we take a look and see? Perhaps we can even offer…some words of wisdom?"

All three chuckled darkly as they agreed to follow her. Entering the building, they were unaware of Lizette watching them from the shadows. She was frowning. She quickly turned and ran for Aiden's house. She needed to tell Aiden!

Celine was reading a book about pokémon and their types. She muttered information to herself as she flipped through the pages. "I'm a fire type, so obviously I would be weak against water types…but I have the upper hand when fighting against grass types."

She looked around the library with a frown. "It would be nice if there was a book around here with all the pokémon and their types inside. It would make things so much easier…"

She'd been so deep in her research and discoveries that she had completely bypassed Team Poisonix. They looked at each other in shock; they'd thought the very thought of seeing them would be alone to frighten the young pokémon.

"Aha!" she said, blushing when a nearby pokémon told her to be quiet. She dashed over to one of the tables and flipped the book open, revealing all the pokémon that'd been sighted in the regions.

"You don't know your pokémon and their types?" Seviper mocked as he slithered past her. She looked up from her book; all three members of Team Poisonix surrounded her. Each of them were smirking or grinning down at her in mischievous delight. She frowned. "What do you guys want?"

"Is that any way to greet your superiors?" Gothitelle asked in fake shock. "My, were you not taught manners in school?"

Celine narrowed her eyes. "Yes, as a matter of fact. Though I treat others the way they treat me. And from what I've heard of you I'm only treating you the way you treat others: cold, harsh, and rude."

"You hardly know us!" Banette laughed. "Instead of basing us off of rumors, why not try getting to know us first?"

"No thanks. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to do some reading." Celine said, grabbing her book, and attempting to get away from the trio. Seviper slithered in front of her, halting her. He eyed the books in her hand and then eyed her suspiciously.

"Do you not know your pokémon types?" he repeated.

"What's it matter to you?" Celine asked.

"It doesn't. I just find it oddly amusing that you don't know something as simple as that."

"For all you know it's for a research project," she countered, backing away, "honestly, it's none of your business. So leave me alone."

"A school project? Oh how delightful! Come with us," Banette chuckled as he floated over to her, "we'll teach you all you need to know about pokémon and their types!"

Celine backed away in fright, but a familiar voice immediately soothed her. "Stop right there." The trio stopped and looked behind them where Vivian, Aiden, and Lizette all stood. Each of them was glaring at them.

She winced as Banette leaned against her, smiling all friendly-like at the group. "Why, hello again!"

"I'm only going to ask you nicely once," Aiden growled, "step away from my partner and leave her alone."

Banette wasn't even fazed. Instead, he looked at Celine and chuckled. She was trying her best not to tremble. "We weren't doing anything to _hurt_ her. We were simply trying to give her some good advice."

"Advice that she clearly doesn't want." Aiden grumbled. He put his hands on his hips.

"Isn't that just adorable?" Gothitelle cooed, making her two partners-in-crime chuckle. "His 'partner!' Here, be with your 'partner,'" she said and shoved Celine towards the group.

Celine quickly took shelter behind Aiden, smiling at him gratefully. The trio of pokémon prepared to leave, but not before Gothitelle got her last few words in, "I find it quite disappointing that you didn't accept our help. Well, good luck on your 'project,' dearie!" Gothitelle waved her hand in the air as she escorted her two friends out.

Celine let out a sigh of relief. "Are you okay?" Aiden asked. She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. How about you?" she asked, eying his bandaged arm.

"It's nothing – like I said, just a simple bruise," he smiled. He turned to Lizette and nodded gratefully. "Thank you for getting us. Who knows what they would've done to her if we hadn't gotten here in time."

"Oh, no problem!" Lizette smiled, her smile slightly faltering. "Truthfully, though, I'm as curious as they are. Why are you looking for books on pokémon and their types? Didn't they teach you that in grade school?"

Celine flinched and looked over to Aiden. Instead it was Vivian who responded in a whisper, "Perhaps that is something better discussed under our own roof. You never know where there are prying eyes and ears. Team Poisonix could very well have a fourth member listening in."

"I agree," Aiden said, looking around the library in worry, "besides, I think we're making the pokémon here a little angry since we're a little loud."

-x-x-x-x-

"So," Lizette began as she settled down in Aiden's living room, "care to tell me why you were looking that information up?"

"First off," Aiden said, "you have to promise me that you're going to keep this a secret. We don't want to go off announcing it. And I rather we keep those who know this secret to a minimum."

Lizette looked confused, but complied. "Okay…"

"I'm human," Celine blurted out, "or was, rather."

Lizette stared at her blankly. Celine, unsure of how to take this reaction, looked over to Aiden. He also looked concerned. He was about to ask her if she was okay when she said, "Well, that explains it all. Though, you might want to make it a little less obvious."

Aiden and Celine were shocked. Celine's mouth was agape while Aiden stared at her with wide, unmoving eyes. "You're…not shocked? Spooked? Anything?"

"Should I be?" Lizette asked with a tilt of her head.

"Well…" Aiden trailed off, uncertain about how to respond. "Wait… if it's that obvious to you, do you think it's obvious to everyone else?"

"Hey!" she cried angrily. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"N-nothing!" he quickly said, raising his hands in self-defense, "I just meant that if it's obvious to you... then it might be obvious to everyone else!"

Lizette folded her arms and huffed. "I doubt anyone else really notices. I just happen to watch others and their behaviors. I knew something was off about you the day that Aiden introduced me to you. And the reason behind that is because he was helping you more than necessary. She didn't look like she was terribly injured, but you were still helping her around the town."

Celine didn't look convinced. She looked over to Aiden worriedly. "Don't worry about it," Lizette smiled reassuringly at her, "nobody else in town was really paying attention, and those who did assumed that you were injured. Or, at the very least, that's that I told everyone else about you. I figured you two would tell me if something else was up. It's not in your nature to hold lies very long, Aiden."

Aiden grumbled. "That's not what I'm worried about," he sighed a moment later. "It's Team Poisonix. After that little display in Town Square and then the incident in the library…I assume that they're a little angry with us. And, if they're suspicious of us, our actions today didn't really help."

"I wouldn't worry." Lizette smiled reassuringly. "I don't trust Team Poisonix either, but I don't think they'd kidnap pokémon. If they did, well, they'd under the police force's radar."

There was a moment of silence as the information sunk in. Vivian and Silver exchanged looks, feeling oddly out of place. "So," Vivian cleared her throat, "did anyone find anything out of the ordinary besides the Team Poisonix situations?"

Lizette frowned and shook her head. "There's been no update to the rumors around the well. But I definitely have my ears open."

"Seriously? You spend way too much time there." Aiden commended. She stuck her tongue out at him. "You'd be surprised with the power of gossip!"

"Which," he began with a roll of his eyes, "we don't know are even right half the time."

"I have my ways of finding out the truth." Lizette pouted.

"We'd have no choice in the matter," Vivian interrupted the two, "false or not. We would still need to check it."

Silver lifted his head. Vivian, noticing this, looked at him. "Is it Radia?"

He nodded, excusing himself. Aiden, Lizette and Celine looked at her questioningly. "I told Radia to contact us in case anything interesting came in," she explained. "As I mentioned before she is our fourth member; she's also our fourth leader. Since Annabelle is out and Silver and I are out searching for her, Radia is in charge. She's an excellent gardevoir with amazing psychic ability. Even though Silver is a dark type, the two are very close. It's why the two of them are able to use telepathy. We use that ability to keep in touch if we ever get separated."

She looked at the door with a frown. "If she's contacted us it only means that she learned something rather important."

She was about to say more when Silver returned with a scowl. He sat beside Vivian, obviously annoyed with whatever Radia had told him. Vivian eyed him questioningly. He sighed and lowered his head before looking over at her. "Darkrai is missing again. Radia can't find him anywhere."

Vivian had a look of alarm. "Missing?!" she nearly cried. "Oh no, this is a very bad time… Do you think he…?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Radia said she's kept a rather close eye on him and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, but you and I both know he was once a trickster. Why did you guys even let him on the team after what we found out? He was evil."

"Keyword being 'was,'" Vivian scolded lightly, "and you know very well that it was Annabelle who believed he would change his ways. For her sake I'll keep my good faith in him. It's best you do as well – we don't have time to look for him. We have to find Annabelle. Anyway, was there anything else?"

Silver nodded. "Grovyle has returned."

Vivian's eyes went wide and her mouth hung open. "But…but how? He… I thought he vanished because the future was changed!"

"Part of me isn't surprised," Silver said with a small smile. "Annabelle was able to return to us even after the future was altered. Perhaps the only thing that changed in the future was the outcome of the world. The pokémon are probably the same. However," he sighed, "he got in contact with Radia and learned the fate of Anna. He's worried and he's coming to our aid."

"Uh, could you clue us in?" Lizette asked as she raised her paw. She looked between Vivian and Silver. "Who is Grovyle? And who is Darkrai? What do you mean about the future changing?"

Vivian laughed weakly. "It's a rather long explanation. Are you sure you want to hear?" Lizette nodded eagerly. Vivian looked over to Silver who shrugged and smiled. "Alright, so… let's start at the beginning."

She told them everything she had learned. Starting from the knowledge that Annabelle was originally a human from the future who'd come to the pokémon world to save it. Grovyle, her best friend and partner at the time, and Annabelle swore to stop the darkness that'd taken over the future. But something horrible happen during their trip to the past, resulting in Annabelle's memory loss and transformation. Vivian went on to tell them that the two partners eventually reunited, but were both surprised to learn about their past relations. After saving the world, Annabelle vanished. She returned weeks later, but Grovyle had not. That's when Vivian began telling them about their adventures involving Darkrai and his involvement with Annabelle's transformation and memory loss.

"Even after his defeat," Vivian started to finish, "Annabelle forgave him and invited him to join our team. He'd somehow lost his memory too, so he didn't remember what he'd done. Radia, Silver, and I weren't fond of the idea, but Anna was set on having him join the team. Any other questions?"

Lizette was staring at her in awe. Aiden chuckled. "Liz, I thought you knew about Team PokéStars and their rise to fame."

"I knew _part_ of the story," Lizette snapped, "but I didn't know _all_ of it! That's so amazing! But… if he was known for nightmares…" she trailed off and looked over to Aiden who narrowed his eyes.

"I don't think he's responsible for pokémon not waking up, if that is what you are referring to. He's known to cause nightmares, but preventing pokémon entirely from waking up?" Silver sighed.

Vivian shook her head. "He's done it once before. For now I wouldn't worry about it. We have other pressing matters to attend to. Once we find Anna, we can find Darkrai."

Celine watched the two as they conversed. Lizette and Aiden occasionally piped in with their own thoughts, adding to the pile of theories the group was building. Celine hadn't noticed it at first, but she found that she was both tired and dizzy. She left the room quietly and entered her room. Lying on the hay pile that served as her bed, she wondered briefly how the other human turned pokémon were doing. Before she knew it she was passed out.

-x-x-x-x-

Annabelle winced as she backed away from the iron bars. For the past three hours she'd been repeatedly ramming into it with her shoulder. She even started using her own attacks against the bars, but nothing was working. With each idea that failed, her hope grew weaker and weaker.

She plopped down on the ground, groaning from exhaustion and hopelessness. "You finally giving up?" came a voice. She looked around, eventually settling her gaze to the cell in front of her.

Inside sat a delcatty with her eyes trained on Annabelle. Part of her purple fur covered her right eye. Wrapping around her tail was a heart with four dots on either side of the heart. Inside the heart was a diamond.

"Who are you?" Annabelle asked.

"Me?" the delcatty tilted her head, her smile growing. "My name is Nyla. I'm the leader of Team Echo Hearts!"

"Team Echo Hearts?" Annabelle frowned, not having heard the name before. Nyla shook her paw dismissively. "You may have not heard about us. We prefer to lay low."

Annabelle raised an eyebrow. Nyla laughed weakly. "Either way, have you given up on your attempts to get out? I've been watching you attack that cell for days."

"I would prefer not to. I've been in situations far worse than this." Annabelle said.

"Ah yes, I've heard. You're responsible for saving the world from paralyze! Team PokéStars name is well known and famous amongst the pokémon. You're their leader and you run the team beside Vivian, a ninetails who is your best friend. I assume your case is very similar to mine with meeting Jaxon."

Annabelle stared at her. She had no idea what to make of the delcatty that smiled brightly at her. "You… know so much about my team and myself…that's rather…creepy."

"Really?" she asked, tilting her head with a look of surprise. "I'm sorry to have frightened you. Your story is well known among the pokémon. Your friend made sure to spread word of it after the incident. And word does travel fast. It reached my homeland. As for the assumptions about your partner, well, you were once a human were you not? I was as well."

"You are? Err, were?"

Nyla nodded. She frowned and looked down at her feet. "Though that was a long time ago. I hardly remember my memories of a human. They're vague now. Meaningless. I had nothing to lose there. Here… here I have friends, a team, and a town to rally behind."

She looked around, a serious look appearing on her face. "With the knowledge that I've given you, why do you think the pokémon here are trapped here?"

Annabelle thought back to how Nyla knew that she was a human and even claimed to have been one herself. She walked over to the iron bars and looked down the dark, but long, hallway. She could see various pokémon trapped in the cells. They all looked sad, disheartened, confused, angry, and even hopeless.

"There's a rumor," Nyla began, breaking Annabelle out of her thought, "that every pokémon trapped here was once human."

Annabelle jerked her head in Nyla's direction in surprise. Nyla nodded sadly. "I don't know why we're all here. I just know that we've all saved the world in some way or another. My team and I were responsible for stopping the unnatural disasters occurring all over the place and stopping a meteor from destroying the world. Your team is known for stopping the planet's paralyze and saving our future from a relentless darkness. Do you see the pattern?"

"So everyone here is a human… or was at one point. Their partners and teammates must be worried sick." Annabelle frowned as the thought of her own team came to mind.

Nyla, seeing this, offered a small smile. "If your team is anything like mine, your partner is out and about looking for you. Don't lose hope. But now I have a few questions for you… I was one of the first few pokémon brought here and confined. I don't know what's happened to our world. What have you heard?"

"Nothing good," Annabelle said, her eyes narrowed. "There have been strange things going on. The world has been shaking with an unknown anger. The sky has brought down fierce winds and rains. And somehow, without any known cause, fires have started in the forests and burnt most of them to the ground. This has forced a lot of pokémon to take shelter in the towns. But that's not the only problem we're facing. We heard rumors in Treasure Town of pokémon who have fallen asleep and have yet to wake. To top it all off, pokémon were disappearing without explanation. My team and I were looking into it before I vanished. Though, if what you've told me is true, everyone here is connected to the missing pokémon cases."

Nyla's face fell as the information sank in. "Either way, we might be here for a while unfortunately. With that being the case, do you mind telling me about yourself? You know about me, but I hardly know anything about you. And please, call me Anna."

"Oh, my story is nothing of interest," Nyla chuckled, "but I was once a human. Apparently I was summoned to this world to help stop the natural disasters that plagued the pokémon. I accomplished this, thankfully, with my best friend and partner: Jaxon."

Her eyebrows furrowed in thought as she lifted a paw to her chin. "He's a rather interesting pokémon, if I may say. He certainly has a lot of spunk for a raichu! He and I clicked immediately when we first met and we've been close ever since. We have a third member. She's an angel! She has such a beautiful name too – Kalista, the fiery arcanine with the heart of a giant. Together we proudly stood against danger. Team Echo Hearts, the team whose heart echo's and inspire everyone to connect and stand together as one."

"It seems we're destined to save the pokémon world when we're summoned here." Annabelle murmured with a small smile.

"Indeed," agreed Nyla as the two exchanged smiles. Both hoped that their friends would find them soon. Neither of them said it aloud, but both worried about the welfare of their friends and family. How were they doing? Were they okay? What was going on?

All these questions, they hoped, would be answered in due time.


	4. Insight of the Future

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 3: Grovyle's Return

Celine woke with a start. She sat up, panting slightly as she examined the room. She must've been asleep the whole day because the room was dark and the moonlight was the only thing lighting her room. Next to her bed was a bowl with some berries.

She groaned a moment later and collapsed back on her bed. _What was that?_ she thought, thinking back to her dream. She remembered seeing nothing but darkness. But there were cries, painful cries, which echoed all around her. Then she saw blurred figures. They were getting slightly clearer when she approached them, but before she could reach them there was a sudden blast of red light that forced her back. She remembered the fear that grabbed her as she looked up at the large red eyes that appeared. Then… there was darkness.

_I wonder what it all means…_ She shook her head, sitting back up. She chewed on the berries idly, lost in thought. Her eyes darted over to the moving shadow near her window. Getting up, she cautiously approached it. But by the time she got there the shadow had moved away from the window and out of her sights. Determined to not lose the suspicious pokémon, she ran out of her room and outside.

Once she was outside, she looked around for any sign of the intruder. She narrowed her eyes. She knew something, or _someone_, was out here. Immediately, to her left, the bushes began rustling. She spun around quickly and growled. "I don't know who you are, or why you're here, but you better come out!"

When she received no reply she snarled and shot an ember attack in the direction of the bushes. Suddenly a large pokémon jumped out of the bushes, blocking the ember attack, and knocked her back.

She had no time to react. The pokémon was gone within seconds, reappearing in front of her moments later and slammed her against a tree. She let out a yelp, falling to the ground as her captor released her and jumped back.

She was surprised with the speed and attack of her attacker. It certainly wasn't a rookie pokémon and clearly knew how to fight. She needed to come up with something and fast!

Weakly, she got to her feet and glared in the direction of where the shadowed pokémon once stood. Almost immediately the shadowed pokémon reappeared in front of her and repeated the process.

The commotion had obviously woken Aiden and the others because the lights were now on and she could hear them calling for her name. She tried answering, but no sound came out.

She became hopeful the minute she saw Aiden run outside. Her hope, however, was short lived. Aiden had run into an invisible barrier. Confused and fearful for his friend, he began pounding his fists against it.

Vivian and Silver joined him a moment later. They started attacking the barrier; Vivian's fire attacks lit up the area enough to reveal the shadow pokémon to be Grovyle. The sight of him caused the two evolved pokémon to pause and stare at him in awe.

Vivian looked far more surprised to see Grovyle than Silver had. Nobody else besides Silver knew that she was confused and baffled to see Grovyle so soon, and attacking their new friend no less!

She started yelling, her voice barely audible for the two pokémon outside of the barrier to hear.

As his leaf blades began to glow, Grovyle smirked. Celine backed away, uncertain of how to take this. "W-wait! Aren't you friends of Vivian and Silver?"

He chuckled. "I am."

"Well, I'm friend's with them too! They're over there, near the house!" she cried and pointed her finger in the direction of the house.

"Oh, I know," he responded, sending a shiver down Celine's spine.

"Then why are you attacking me?" she asked.

"Because-"

"Because that's a fake!" a voice shouted. The questionable grovyle spun around just in time to block an attack from another grovyle.

The questionable grovyle jumped back to create more distance between the two. He obviously wasn't pleased with the appearance of this other grovyle.

"He's a zoroark," the other grovyle said, "he's known to be the master of illusions. He came here under my guise to trick you into thinking I was evil. I knew he was up to no good; I saw him near Treasure Town and he looked extremely suspicious. But before I could question him, he scurried away."

"Am I really the fake one?" the questionable grovyle taunted, "or are you just lying so that she'll take your side? I know you're the real evil one."

"You just attacked me for no reason!" Celine countered.

"I was testing you!" he said. "I know who and what you are, and I know what your duty is in this world. I came back to test you, to see if you were worthy of saving the pokémon world! I needed to know if you were strong enough in order to handle what is to come."

Celine looked confused. "What's going to happen?"

"That is something I cannot tell you." He said, crossing his arms. "But that pokémon standing beside you? He's evil – a thief! I'm willing to bet that he's trying to deceive you so that you will be on his side. And the moment you two knock me out, he'll turn around and knock you out and possibly bring you to the lair of where the other captured pokémon are."

"I can assure you that's not who I am or what I'll do," the other grovyle grumbled. The questionable grovyle raised an eyebrow. "Prove it."

The two grovyles stared at each other for a long time. Eventually, one of them turned to Vivian and took out a badge similar to the one around her neck. A look of recognition came across her face. "I took one of these before I was forced back into the future. I wanted a memento of the friends I'd made here. I knew I wouldn't be able to return so easily as I could before – heck, I figured that my life would disappear the moment you changed the future. But I didn't, and this badge proved that. When I saw it the day I woke up and first saw the sun rise in my world, I somehow knew that everything was almost the same. The only major difference was the threat of darkness and our world being paralyzed gone."

The question grovyle rolled his eyes and smirked as he brought out an exact replica of the badge his counter part held. The other grovyle looked surprised. "Sorry, but that's not really any proof if I have the same badge. I remember the times I spent with my friends. I remember bringing Dusknoir to the future and saying farewell to Vivian and Annabelle."

"That's a lie!" Grovyle shouted.

Suddenly an ember shot past him and hit the questionable grovyle. He grunted, having used his arm to absorb the attack. But his façade quickly fell and his real form, a zoroark, appeared.

He glared at Celine who smiled. "So, you're the real one?" she taunted. "Then why don't you _look_ like one?"

He snarled and leaped towards her. Grovyle jumped in front of her and blocked the attack. "Go!" He ordered, looking over his shoulder, "find a weakness in their barrier and bring it down!"

She hesitated at first, but then rushed over to the barrier. Just as Aiden and the other had, she tried attacking it. Unfortunately, she was met with the same failing results. She was growing more and more panicked with each passing second. After hearing a shrill cry of pain and seeing a bright flash of orange light, Celine's fear skyrocketed.

Slowly, she turned to see Grovyle on the ground with bad burn marks all over his body. Standing above him victorious was Zoroark whose eyes were settled on Celine's cowering form.

Behind her, she could hear her friends screaming at her to run. Instead, she stood her ground. She became confused when Zoroark started laughing. "Oh how pitiful," he mocked. "You really think you stand a chance against me?"

"Don't underestimate me," she commented. "I just might surprise you with how strong I am."

"Pitiful really," he sighed with a shrug, "you had such a short life in the pokémon world, didn't you?"

Her face fell. He began laughing again. "Like I said: I know who you are! You're no regular pokémon. In fact, you're actually a human! However…" his smile faded. "I'm not here to fight you or end you either."

Celine narrowed her eyes. She didn't trust him after everything he'd done. His shoulders sagged as he released another sigh. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you. It's my job to test the heroes of this world. I judge whether or not our world is really in capable hands, and I've already come a conclusion."

"And, pray tell, is that?" she asked.

"You are not ready for what is to come," he began, his eyes never leaving hers. "You lack strength, and your heart wavers. In order to deal with the hardships of the future, you must become stronger. And even then your strength alone won't do. You will need the strength of the other human turned pokémon."

Grovyle groaned as he got to one knee. "Then why did you attack me?"

"Because you attacked me; you interfered with my fight. I took on your persona to test the power of trust among your old comrades. They have been through many trials with you, yes, but saving the future of our world isn't just the human turned pokémons destiny. Just as their true partners were needed in past trials, they are once again needed for the future trials."

His eyes flashed and the barrier disappeared. Vivian and Silver ran over to Grovyle's aid while Lizette and Aiden stood guard in front of Celine. Ignoring this, Zoroark continued. "Those who have crossed paths with the chosen ones are burdened with the task of staying beside their partners and help guide them through the perilous trials."

Grovyle winced as his friends helped him up. "What about me though? Annabelle is no longer my partner; she's Vivian's partner."

"That is what you may think," Zoroark said, turning to him, "but you were once her partner. In the eyes of the world you will forever remain her first partner. Just as Vivian is burdened with the same task as Annabelle to save the world, you are burdened as well because you two are her true partners."

Silver scoffed, making Zoroark sigh. "I use the term 'partners' very loosely. I understand that you are on the same team as Annabelle and you have fought by her side, but the law of the world always marks the first pokémon to meet this human as their partner. Annabelle's case is very different because she is from both the present and the future. So that would make her first partner from the future – you yourself, Grovyle – and her first partner in the past – that is you, Vivian – her true partners forever burdened with helping her save the world. It is the very reason why some of the human turned pokémon have returned home. They did not wish to continuously burden their partners with the continuous task of saving our world. Does that make sense?"

"It kinda does…" Celine trailed off. Aiden snorted, remaining unmoved. "That doesn't mean I'm going to move and let you hurt Celine."

"Good." Zoroark praised with a small smile on his face. "That is the very commitment that marks you as her true partner. But we have trailed off topic – Celine you must grow stronger in order to truly become one of the legendary heroes who have saved our world. The strength you are searching for will come from your heart and your unwavering commitments."

Vivian and Silver led Grovyle inside the house to treat his wounds, but not before Vivian could stop and give Zoroark one last glance. Zoroark met her gaze. A look of understanding came across her face and she nodded. She vanished inside the house.

"Despite our earlier introduction, I am only here to provide insight and advice. For generations my family was tasked with watching over the heroes from afar. But that is a story for another time." He got down to one knee in front of the trio. "It was impossible for human turned pokémon and their partners to evolve while on their journey, but you two are exceptions to this rule. I cannot tell you how to achieve evolution, but I do recommend that you two achieve your strongest forms before challenging the ones who threaten the balance and safety of our world.

"Will you be helping us with the fight?" Celine asked. Zoroark shook his head.

"Yes," he responded, "but not right now. I want you to prove to me that you have the strength to stand up against the odds. I will send you a message when I believe you are ready to challenge me again. Once you have defeated me… that's when I'll join you."

Celine smiled reassuringly towards Aiden. "That's something to look forward too!"

"I guess," he murmured, still eying Zoroark suspiciously.

Zoroark smiled and stood. "I shall be taking my leave now. Good luck on your adventures and remember that I shall send you something when I believe you are ready to challenge me again."

He began walking away, but stop briefly to look over his shoulder. "I would be wary of those around you." Before anyone could ask what he meant, he was gone.

Celine frowned and looked over to Aiden. "I wonder what he meant by that…" Aiden shook and ushered for her to get inside.

Lizette, however, stayed outside. She couldn't understand why, but she felt her blood run cold at Zoroark's words.

And it hadn't helped he'd eyed her when he said that.

-x-x-x-x-

"I would be lying if I said that I'm not surprised to see you here," Vivian began as she dabbed some ointment on Grovyles burns, "but that would mark me as a liar. I thought that you… vanished… after the future changed."

He winced at the painful sensations. "The future is much better thanks to you and Annabelle. Everyone is still the same. The only difference is that the darkness isn't looming over our world. Oh, and minor changes like Dusknoir being a rather good pokémon than a bad one."

"The Great Dusknoir?" Vivian asked, eying him. "He's not evil anymore?"

"Nope," Grovyle smiled, "it's odd to see him as he is now. Before he only cared about himself. Now he's running around and helping pokémon. I even heard a rumor he formed his own exploration team."

Vivian blinked surprisingly. She honestly couldn't picture Dusknoir helping anyone. Especially after everything he'd done to her and Annabelle. The thought of Annabelle made her frown. Grovyle, sensing this, sighed. "I heard about the news. Have you two learned anything on your end?"

Silver shook his head. "Nothing, but she isn't the only human turned pokémon to have vanished. There are others. And the fennekin you protected? She's another human. She's probably the solution to this mess just as Annabelle was for ours."

"So… the pokémon world called down another human to solve its problems, eh?" Grovyle chuckled weakly. His laughter died down a second later. He could sense the despair in Vivian. Silver could as well. He was staring at her in worry.

She had her head bowed, hiding her face. She was fighting against the urge to cry. She lost as one tear slipped down her cheek. "Vivi…" Silver murmured, rubbing against her to offer some comfort.

"What if we never find her?" Vivian choked out. "It hurt so much when I thought I lost her after we defeated Diagla. Back then, I did whatever I could do to deliver her last request – tell the world about what happened to prevent it from ever happening again. When I saw her again… you have no idea how happy I'd been. And now I've lost her again. What if I lost her permanently this time?"

"She's strong." Grovyle said. Vivian sniffled and looked at him. He had his head lowered as he recalled his memories of her. "She isn't knocked down easily, and when she is she always gets back on her feet. You should know that better than anyone, Vivian. Even in captivity she won't give up. She's counting on us to find her and save her. You need to have faith and believe that she's alright."

Vivian laughed slightly. "Easier said than done…"

"Nobody ever said it would be easy," he said, looking at her, "but if you can't put faith in your own friend, then what kind of friend are you?"

She smiled and hugged him carefully, whispering in his ear, "You have no idea how much she missed you too."

"Uh… did I walk in at a bad time?" Lizette commented, causing Vivian to move away with a light blush. "If I did… I'll just leave the medical supplies here and wait outside…"

"No, it's fine. I was just telling him how much we missed him since he left a long time ago." Vivian said. She looked behind Lizette to see Aiden and Celine. Her eyes narrowed. "What about them?"

Lizette looked behind her then back towards Vivian. "Celine has some minor cuts and bruises, but she's fine. Aiden is busy worrying over her. It's like he's become her doting boyfriend."

"I am not her boyfriend!" Aiden yelled, making the meowstic laugh.

Celine smiled a little, but Zoroark's words still bothered her. She knew that she was weak, but to have another pokémon tell it right to her face hurt.

"It takes time to grow stronger," Grovyle said, breaking her out of her thought. She looked at him in confusion. "You're still new to the world, so it's understandable that you're not exactly super strong. While you lack power now, just give it time. You have friends all around you who will aid you in your journey to get stronger."

"And when did you become so wise?" Vivian joked. Grovyle blushed and glared at her. "I'm just stating the obvious. Besides, you and I went through the same thing with Annabelle."

Everyone, minus Celine, smiled at the thought. Celine left the room and entered her own where she plopped back down in her bed. Aiden entered moments later. "If he was really our enemy he would've wiped me out," she muttered, fighting back the tears. "We're lucky he only came to offer us advice."

"Celine…" he frowned, sitting next to her. She started sniffling. "What if something happens to you and I can't protect you? I knew I was weak... but I didn't think I was _that_ weak."

"Well, you're a rookie," he said, hugging her. "You're weak, yes, but that's only for now. Just like Grovyle said. You have me and everyone else to help you. You'll get stronger. If it makes you feel better we can train some more tomorrow."

She shook her head. "No, the best way to get stronger is to get experience and the best way to get experience is to go out in the mystery dungeons and help those who need it. I don't want to be the reason for 'personal' days off from our rescuing. Besides, we've only completed one mission."

"Alright then," Aiden smiled. "We'll continue on as planned."

She returned the smile and hugged him. "I'm glad I have you around."

She hadn't seen the blush that covered his face. He smiled and returned the hug while thinking, _And I'm glad that I got to meet and befriend someone as special as you._

-x-x-x-x-

For the next month and a half, Aiden and Celine went on missions. Just as Grovyle and Aiden had said, Celine got stronger. She still hadn't evolved, but she could feel the power inside of her growing as she completed her missions. She occasionally trained with Aiden in his secret spot, or sometimes, just watched him practiced.

Unknowingly, each passing day brought them closer and closer. The two would always exchanged these secretive looks and giggle.

Lizette didn't show it, but she was becoming increasingly jealous of their close bond. To throw the others off, she laughed and poked fun at how close the two were. When she heard Vivian or Grovyle agree on it, she felt a stab of pain enter her heart. But she shrugged it off each time.

Aiden and Celine were current at his secret spot. Celine was lying beneath a tree watching Aiden as he practiced his fighting. Lizette watched him from afar. She was admiring how toned he'd became over the weeks.

But she felt her anger growing each time he stopped and rested beside Celine. The two would cuddle and whisper as if they were lovers. The very sight of it burned Lizette. She couldn't understand how some _human_ turned pokémon got in his favor. She'd known him longer!

The same question repeated itself: why was Celine so much closer to Aiden than she was? What did Celine have that she didn't?

While she sulked in the shadows, Celine and Aiden giggled at one of Celine's jokes. She smiled at him. "You're getting better. I bet you'll evolve any time now."

"I hope so too. My final evolved form is so cool. My aura training is almost completed."

"Can you sense other pokémon?" she asked with a tilt of her head. He nodded. "That's going to be extremely useful in the dungeons in case either of us get warped to another part of the dungeon."

"That's if I'm not toast first. Or if you get your butt kicked."

"Excuse me? I've gotten much stronger since our first mission. What happened then was just a rash decision. I'm wiser and stronger now." She had a big smirk on her face as she pushed him gently. He pushed her back gently, chuckling as the memory returned.

"Which actually reminds me… you haven't had anymore of those awful nightmares, have you?" he asked.

She frowned and nodded. "It's gotten worse. It's always the same thing, but at the same time… it's not. Also…" she trailed off, not sure how to word her most recent dream without worrying him. Gulping, she just told him as she remembered it, "I've been getting a new dream. It sounds more gruesome than the last. In it, I hear voices: some are familiar – ours and Lizette's, to be more accurate – and some that aren't familiar. I don't understand everything that's being said, but I can feel a surge of panic and fear. And then… the dream ends with me screaming 'Aiden no!'"

Aiden looked confused, but at the same time worried. She lowered her head. "It's worrying me… something bad might happen to you in the future and I just don't know _when_ or _where_ it'll happen so I could stop it. You mean too much to me to lose."

She immediately blushed at her own words. She stuttered in her attempt to cover up what she meant. "A-a-as a friend, obviously! Hahaha!"

He smiled as she continued laughing. He never admitted it out loud, but hearing her words warmed a part of his heart. His smile faded as theories of what might happen started circling around. It was obvious that it was something bad involving the three pokémon, but what were the circumstances? And why was she screaming his name at the end? Was someone attacking her and he jumped in front of the attack to absorb it?

His silence didn't go unnoticed. Celine watched him from the corner of her eyes. Part of her regretted telling him her most recent dream, but part of her felt like she needed to. It did involve him, after all.

_I don't know what happens, or what exactly causes that fear I felt,_ she thought as she rested her head on top of her paws, _but I do know that I won't let anything bad happen to Aiden._

"Celine, don't worry," he suddenly said, causing her ears to flicker, letting him know that she was listening. "Nothing bad will happen to me."

She smiled warmly. "I know." _I won't let it, _she mentally added.

Little did she know that her dream was soon to become a reality.


	5. The Heart that Echoed

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 4: The Heart that Echoed

It was that same dream again. She twitched feverously in her sleep as the same voices haunted her. The blurry scene still provided no insight. The only thing she could make out clearly was the fact that there were eight pokémon, including herself. But this time the dream ended differently.

The words were almost clearer. She strained her ears, desperate to discover what was going on.

"…You…hurt…not…allowing…!"

"Ha! …nothing!"

"…me!"

Suddenly she saw an orb of darkness being hurled in her direction. Too injured to move, she watched in growing fear as the dark orb grew closer. Something jumped in front of her. "AIDEN! NO!"

Startled, she jumped up from her bed. She stood there for five minutes, panting and calming herself down. For some unexplainable reason she felt the fear inside of her growing and making it nearly impossible to breathe.

She hadn't realized she screamed until Aiden and Grovyle came barreling into her room. She yelped and jumped back. Vivian walked in a moment later, shaking her head in mild amusement as Grovyle and Aiden groaned in pain.

"Will you get off of me?" Aiden snapped.

"Sorry," Grovyle grumbled, getting off the young pokémon. Aiden grumbled and dusted himself off.

Meanwhile, Vivian checked in with a surprised Celine. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah. Did I wake everyone up?" Vivian nodded, causing Celine to groan. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to wake anyone up."

Vivian eyed Aiden from the corner of her eyes. "It involved him, didn't it?"

Celine's ears flattened and she lowered her gaze. "Nobody else really heard that part, or at least I don't think so. Grovyle and Aiden were asleep. I was reading something when I heard you scream. These two just came running in. Anyway, do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. "No…"

"What's the humanoid screaming about _now_?" Lizette grumbled as she entered the room. Celine flinched at the cruelness behind her words. Everyone else looked shocked. Lizette stared at all of them. "What? I'm just asking."

"You don't need to be rude about it." Aiden countered.

Lizette glared at him. "I'm not being _rude._ This is the fifth time this month she woke everyone up with her screaming. Can't blame me if I'm getting a little tired of it."

"Then go to your own house. No need for you to stay here," Aiden crossed his arms.

Lizette mirrored the action, but with a sneer. "Oh, is that the nicest way you can ask one of your _friends_ to leave?" she emphasized on the friends.

"What the heck is your problem? You've been acting like a spoiled brat for a few weeks now."

Lizette's ears went back, offended with Aiden's choice of wording. "I don't think that's any of your business."

"Well, instead of acting like a brat then," he begun with a snarl, "maybe you could be a bit nicer?"

"Aiden… it's fine. I'm sorry Lizette for waking you," Celine smiled apologetically and bowed her head. Lizette stared at her and shrugged. "You should be. Night." She left the room without saying anything else.

Grovyle's eyes narrowed. He snuck out of the room to follow her as she left the house. In the meantime, Vivian and Aiden ignored her and tended to Celine. "I really didn't mean to wake anyone up. And I am so sorry for disturbing Lizette…"

"Don't worry about her. She's moody." Aiden rolled his eyes and hugged Celine. "Are you alright? What were you screaming about?"

Celine lowered her gaze. Aiden understood almost immediately. "You had that nightmare again, didn't you? Did it come in any clearer?"

She shook her head. Despite the fact that she got more than usual, she didn't want to raise his hopes. She noticed the worry laced on his face, but was glad that he didn't press her for any more information.

Hoping to change the subject, Vivian voiced her troubled thoughts. "What exactly has been bugging Lizette lately? She never was this moody before. Did something happen between you three?"

"I don't know," Aiden grumbled, obviously not too happy with his friend. "She's been giving Celine the cold shoulder for no explanation. Whenever I try talking to her, she just snaps and storms off. I don't even know why she bothers even sleeping over. I never asked her to."

She hadn't said anything, but Celine had a few theories of her own. She was partially surprised that Vivian didn't understand it. Lizette was jealous. She was jealous of the close bond between Aiden and her. And she even hated Aiden for not even acknowledging her attempts to get in his favor.

Celine knew the meowstic had a crush on him. She made almost obvious gestures towards the riolu. He shrugged them off, paying more attention to her. And that shoved the hard, cold truth down her throat painfully: Aiden didn't feel the same about her. So now, out of jealously, she treated Celine as if she were a parasite.

The only reason why she came to that conclusion was because she remembered it was a common feeling she felt when she was a human. Not to mention she was a female herself, and such expressions and motivations were easy to figure out.

She blushed when Aiden pulled her close, ranting about his anger with Lizette and her recent behavior. Vivian, from the corner of her eye, noticed the fennekin's blush and smiled. Before long, she was passed out in his arms with a big smile on her face.

-x-x-x-x-

She woke with a groan. Her ears flickered as Aiden's whispered voice registered. She lifted her head, slightly dazed from just waking up. Stretching, she got up and made her way towards the door. She stopped abruptly as she heard, "What do you mean you two were attacked?"

"Well, it means what I said. We were attacked."

"Any internal injuries?" Vivian whispered. "You look horrible."

"I'm fine," came Grovyle's voice. "It's Lizette I'm worried about. I was knocked out before I could do anything, but I know that she was taken in the midst of all of this chaos."

"Kidnapped?" Vivian gasped. "But that cannot be! She's not a human! Why would the kidnappers change?"

"To mislead us," Aiden murmured, "which only means one thing."

"It could mean many things." Grovyle said. "The main question and concern I have is if they're suspicious of us."

"How do we know that these are even the same kidnappers that have taken the human turned pokémon hostage?" Silver said. "For all we know this is an entirely different group with a different purpose in mind."

Celine poked her head out and looked at everyone. All of them were frowning, or had their heads bowed in deep thought. Aiden was the one to speak. "Why do you think this group would be suspicious of us, Grovyle?"

"Well, when you told me you brought her to town and had eyes on you… maybe not everyone assumed she was just 'injured,' as your friend may have claimed. And since she was new, it probably aroused suspicion."

"If that's the case, why didn't they go for her instead?" Aiden frowned. Grovyle sighed and shrugged. "I'm not sure. They might be using Lizette to get her to come out."

"Or," Vivian cut in, "they don't know anything about Celine, but have suspicions that Lizette does. Thus, capturing her to get information. And only one group comes to mind."

"You really think Poisonix was involved?" Aiden asked, a troubled look on her face. "That would make sense since they were the most suspicious of us than anyone else, but they couldn't go around kidnapping pokémon! They're a rescue team, or exploration team, I don't know which, but by doing that they're putting their badges at risk!"

"They might not care. And it might just be a ruse." Vivian said.

"It's no ruse," Silver interjected, "I've heard of them before we came here. They are a qualified rescue team. However, it was their infamous way of saving pokémon that earned them the bad reputation."

"The attitudes don't help." Vivian snorted. Silver chuckled.

Aiden wasn't laughing. He looked worried and confused. Vivian, sensing this, sighed and looked at him sadly. "In this day and time I'm afraid you're going to have to realize not all rescue/exploration teams are good. Some are evil. Poisonix has a bad rep. Plus they were the only ones in town to be extremely wary of Celine, and I'm sure they know that Lizette is among the gossipers. She would have information and they probably kidnapped her to find out what she knows."

He shook his head. "But we don't know any of that! We don't know that they have anything to do with this. We're just assuming because they have a bad name. Lizette is a friend and she's in danger. The more we sit here and discuss possible leads is another second she's being hurt! I understand everyone is wary of them, but still…kidnapping? You really think they'd go _that_ far?"

"Wouldn't be the first time that a rescue team was bad and hurt others to gain knowledge." Silver snorted, remembering Team Skull. "Aiden, perhaps it is best we leave Celine to sleep. Let us all go and gather information. You are right – the more we sit here and debate is another second that Lizette is in danger. And all of us don't want Lizette to spill the beans about Celine's real identity."

"Someone should stay behind," Grovyle said. Vivian nodded in agreement. "If we all go then that leaves Celine vulnerable to attack. Yes, she has gotten stronger but she's not strong enough to deal with a group of pokémon on her own."

"I'll stay," Aiden said. "I'm worried about her. She hasn't been herself since she started getting those nightmares."

Silver looked a little uncertain of the idea. Grovyle and Vivian exchanged looks and nodded. "Very well," Vivian said, "we'll try to be as quick as we possibly can."

Aiden offered a weak smile. Truthfully, he felt uncertain of himself. He could handle one pokémon, but a group? He wasn't sure if he'd be able to do much. And then it would depend on how strong they were and what type of advantages they had. The only advantage he had, if things went wrong, was the nearby town.

Celine disappeared back in her room with a frown. Part of her felt responsible for her uneasiness.

She noticed something move in the corner of her eye and spun around to see a letter falling into her room from the window. She ran over and poked her head out to see if there was anything, but she had just missed the figure. She frowned and turned her attention to the letter.

When she opened it, she realized that her worst fear had come true: Lizette was captured in order to bait her. Despite all the work the group had done to disguise Celine's true identity, it appeared that someone didn't buy it.

The note urged her to come alone, or else Lizette would get hurt. Celine shot a glance at her doorway. Part of her urged her to tell Aiden, but the other half told her that she needed to go alone otherwise Lizette would get hurt because of her. She knew it was a trap, and she knew the chances of her getting out of there were slim to none, but she needed to take the chance to help Lizette.

Confident in her final decision, she grabbed her bag and slipped the letter in. She climbed out of the window as quietly and quickly as she could. When she was out, she darted off in the direction of the nearby forest – called Sivilan Forest – and prayed she made the right decision.

A few moments later, Aiden entered her room. "Celine?" he called, looking around the room for any trance of her. Eventually his eyes settled on the letter resting at the foot of her window.

After reading it himself, he felt his panic increasing rapidly. He cursed under his breath. Vivian and her team had already left. Sighing, he came to a conclusion and ran out of the house.

He was going after her.

-x-x-x-x-

The dungeon wasn't easy for Celine, but she'd somehow made it. She was out of breath and a little tired, but she felt a sudden rush of adrenaline when she saw Lizette tied to a nearby tree. "Lizette!"

Lizette snapped her head up and gasped. "C-celine?! Why are you here?! Run!"

"No! I'm not leaving without you!" Celine said.

"Acting heroic isn't going to save you from your fate," came a familiar voice. Celine snarled. "Team Poisonix!"

At the mention of their name, the three members appeared with smirks on their faces. "Did you really think you evaded our suspicions?"

"I had hoped to," Celine grumbled.

"You should've… _blended_ in a little more instead of making it painfully obvious, _human._" Gothitelle sneered.

Celine took a couple steps back. "So what? You know who I really am. Why involve innocents?"

"How else were we going to get you away from your friends?" taunted Seviper. "Unfortunately for us, you did have quite the advantage with past heroes on your side. But thankfully we found a weak point in your little assembly! Poor, poor, poor little Lizette – jealous because her crush loves another!"

"We don't love each other." Celine snorted. "We're just real close! But now I'm here, so let Lizette go! She has nothing to do with this. This is between you and me."

"Did I not say acting heroic would not save you from your fate?" Banette shook his head. "Or are you just dull in the head?"

"Who says I'm acting?" Celine got into a fighting pose.

Gothitelle stared at her for a moment and burst out laughing. "Oh this is just adorable! Our master will have quite the jester on his hands!"

In an attempt to show she wasn't fooling around, she shot an ember attack in their direction. Gothitelle smirked as she brushed it off with a physic barrier. Celine paled.

"Was that the best you could do?" Gothitelle mocked. When Celine didn't answer she chuckled and raised both arms, her eyes taking on a purple hue. "Allow me to show you _true_ power!"

Celine braced herself. She felt the sharp pain a second later as she was sent barreling into a nearby tree. She fell to the ground, whimpering and groaning from the sharp pain throughout her body. _Just as I thought,_ she lifted her head to see Gothitelle laughing. _I'm hopelessly out matched!_

"Celine!" Celine felt horror grip her as Aiden's familiar voice registered through her pain. Flashbacks of her dream appeared and increased her fear rapidly.

She looked in his direction horrified. "What are you doing here?"

Aiden had no time to respond. He barely avoided the psychic blast that Gothitelle had shot. He glared at her and she smirked deviously in return. "I thought we made it perfectly clear that you were to come here alone or else face the consequences."

"But I did! I didn't tell anyone about this!" Celine pleaded, growing even more fearful as Seviper slithered beside Lizette. She winced and moved her face away as he leaned towards her face, venom dripping off his fangs. "No! Leave her alone!"

Determined to defend Lizette from any harm, Celine made the first move. She jumped to her feet – ignoring the pain that shot through her body – and dashed towards Seviper in an attempt to tackle him.

Already having seen it coming, he spun around just in time to slam his tail in her face. She was sent flying back into the tree. Aiden was beside her in seconds with a worried look. "Do you honestly believe you stand a chance against _US_?" Seviper chuckled darkly, curling his tail delightfully.

Celine lifted her head slowly. All she could feel was pain. It hurt to move. Through half-lidded eyelids, she noticed that Aiden stood in front of her. "R-run…"

"I'm not leaving you." Aiden said determinedly.

Gothitelle and her gang exchanged amused stares. Gothitelle placed her hand on her hip as she smirked down at Aiden. She raised an eyebrow as she spoke, "And just what makes you think you'll make a difference? Your friend here has betrayed you. Your girlfriend is weak. And you? You have no hope of standing against us."

Her eyes took on a purple hue as Aiden's figure was outlined in purple. He was lifted off a ground a moment later. He struggled to get free, but had no such luck.

Celine's ears flattened against her skull as she watched Gothitelle slam him into a tree. Not a moment later he was bombarded with shadow balls. "AIDEN!"

Gothitelle and her gang laughed in sickening glee as Aiden remained on the ground motionless.

She tried getting to her feet, but collapsed. Banette turned to her, a purple orb starting to form around his fist. Celine jammed her eyes shut. "You won't hurt Celine! I'm not allowing you to hurt her anymore!"

Celine's eyes shot open in horror. Aiden was struggling to stand, her eyes locked on Team Poisonix in pure hatred. "Ha! You can do nothing!"

_NO!_ Celine's mind screamed. "Try me!"

And just like her dream, she saw an orb of darkness being shot from Banette towards her. She struggled to get up and move. And just like the dream, Aiden jumped in front of her and she found herself screaming, "AIDEN NO!"

Aiden collapsed in front of her. Lizette screamed in utter horror. Celine stared at his motionless body with wide, teary eyes. She whispered his name and crawled towards him. She continued calling him name as she shook him. He gave her no response.

Suddenly she screamed and a ray of blinding light engulfed her. The trio of pokémon, startled by this unexpected turn of events, took a couple of steps back. When the light vanished, a braixen was seen holding Aiden close to her chest.

For some time, nobody said anything. Eventually, it was Lizette who broke the silence and caught the attention of the newly evolved Celine. "Celine…?"

Celine snapped her head up. Tears were running down her cheek. She gently placed Aiden on the ground, offering a small smile. But as she rose she locked her hateful, unmoving glare on Gothitelle and her team.

She began walking towards them with her right fist being surrounded by fire. Unnerved by this, Seviper attacked first. He dashed towards her and readied his fangs.

Celine easily sidestepped him, grabbed his tail and slammed him down on the ground. She stomped on his tail a second later, earning a cry of pain from the snake. Banette, who had charged right after Seviper, earned himself a fire punch to the face and was sent barreling past Gothitelle and into the bushes.

Gothitelle grunted and took a step back. Celine snarled and began walking towards her, only to stop moments later at the sound of Aiden's voice. She spun around to see that he was slightly alarmed to see her new form. "Is that you, Celine…?"

She ran back to him and scooped him into her arms. She held him tightly, rubbing her face in the crook of his neck as she sniffled and whispered, "I was so scared…"

"You… you evolved…" Aiden stated, looking over her new form. She looked confused until she looked at herself. "I…I did!"

Celine smiled brightly. "I don't even know _how_ I evolved. I just… when I saw you get hurt… something snapped. I wanted to protect you."

He smiled and rested her hand on top of hers. "I'm glad that you evolved. I'm sorry for getting in your way."

She shook her head furiously. "You didn't get in my way!"

Suddenly she was picked off of the ground with Gothitelle's power. Celine struggled and snarled at Gothitelle whose eyes were narrowed dangerously. "Just because you evolved doesn't mean your safe from my WRATH!"

Despite how injured he was, Aiden got to his feet and limped towards Gothitelle. She watched him amusedly. "You really think you can take ME on like that? You truly are a pathetic pokémon. Now, allow me to put you out of your misery!"

"NO!" Celine squirmed. Gothitelle smirked, ignoring Celine's cry as she shot a psychic wave in Aiden's direction.

But before the attack could hit him, a ray of light engulfed him. He'd been determined to protect Celine, even if it cost him his life. Her heart, hell-bent on protecting him and Lizette, encouraged him to dig deeper within to obtain the strength he needed to protect her.

Gothitelle backed away, Seviper and Banette jumping in front of her. "Both evolved?!" She shrieked. "Impossible!"

"Then maybe you shouldn't underestimate our bonds, Gothitelle," a deep, but familiar voice spoke. The light disappeared revealing that Aiden was now a lucario. The wounds he's previously had were gone. He looked awfully angry, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

The bushes behind him rustled. A moment later, Vivian jumped out and snarled at Gothitelle. Grovyle and Silver soon accompanied her.

Gothitelle released Celine from her psychic power and backed away. Banette bit his lip and eyed her from the corner of his eye. She growled and nodded. "Sorry, but I don't stay and fight when I know the odds are against me. You may have escaped this time, _human_, but I can guarantee that you're going to soon regret not coming with us." And with that, Team Poisonix vanished in a flash of light.

Celine glared at the spot where Gothitelle had been. Vivian and Silver raced past her and began undoing the ropes around Lizette. Aiden walked up to Celine and smiled. She looked at him, a frown on her face. "I'm really sorry. When I saw the letter, I got worried. I knew it was a trick - that I was walking into a trap. But I couldn't drag you into this… not after the dreams I'd been having. I didn't want to lose you.

"I understand, but… I couldn't stay behind," he said and grabbed her hands, "I knew that there was a great risk here and that I might not walk away, but I refused to let you handle this alone."

"But…Lizette was in this trouble because of _me_. I had to handle this on my own…"

"Actually…" came a small voice. Aiden and Celine looked down at Lizette. She had her head lowered, kicking the dirt idly. "I… I was jealous. And…I kinda…told them… about you."

"You what?!" Grovyle shouted. "You _told_ them that Celine was a human?!"

"I was mad!" she yelled back. "Ever since we hatched, I've known Aiden! I care for him! I loved him! When I saw that my feelings weren't returned and instead he showed those feelings for her, I couldn't contain it! I'm sorry!"

Celine eyed Aiden. He had tensed up. "A woman's jealousy is capable of a lot of things," Celine whispered, gaining everyone's attention. She looked at each of them in the eye. "I don't think she's lying. She said she's sorry, and clearly she means it. I figured that this is why she was so snappy. I could have stopped this from happening. I saw all the warning signs, yet…I did nothing to prevent it from getting worse."

Grovyle snorted and turned his back. "It's best we leave. I heard some rumors back in town."

"It has to do with the recent pokenappings, doesn't it?" Lizette asked. Her ears flattened when Grovyle ignored her and proceeded to leave. She fidgeted, whimpering slightly when she noticed the hateful glare she was getting from Aiden and Silver. Both walked away with saying a word to her. "I really am sorry…"

Vivian watched the male pokémon leave and sighed. "Lizette… what you did… it has put not only yourself in danger, but it has put all of us in danger – especially Celine. I think we can all agree that Team Poisonix definitely has something to do with the pokémon disappearances. We can do nothing more than stay on guard and inform the other rescues teams about their attack. However," she looked over towards Lizette, "that still doesn't save us from the fact that Celine is now a target for these pokémon who wish to get rid of human turned pokémon."

"That could work in our favor," Celine smiled. "I could be bait, or I can even let myself be captured –"

"No! Absolutely not, that is far too dangerous. Either way, we better get going before they come running back thinking we were ambushed." Vivian smiled as Celine laughed. The two trotted along side each other.

Lizette watched them leave, a tear slipping down her cheeks. "At least their hearts echoed and caused a phenomenon. Not only they become stronger and closer, they evolved to greater heights and we found our suspects…"

She looked to the sky. "But in the end it cost me my friendship with them…"


	6. From The Shadows

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 5: From the Shadows

"So," came Celine's confused voice, staring at the group of pokémon sitting around the table, "how come we were both able to evolve? I thought that double evolution was impossible."

"Normally it is." Vivian said, nibbling on an oran berry idly. "It's extremely rare – almost unheard of. But it has happened before."

Celine crossed her arms. Despite the food offering, she wasn't hungry. There were a lot of things on her mind. Silver was the next to speak. "They say that evolution comes from the heart. Determination to grow stronger has always been believed to be the solid theory for evolution."

"It varies," Grovyle stated. He opened one of his eyes to examine the group. "It can also be brought on by love for each other. An example of this would be my case with Anna. I remember feeling her desire to win, and it mirrored what I felt. As dumb as it sounds… it felt like…her heart _echoed_ to me, enabling me to evolve."

"A case of echoing hearts?" Silver questioned.

Aiden grumbled under his breath. "That sounds so cheesy."

Celine rolled her eyes with a smile. "It's not cheesy, nor is it corny. I think it's romantic. Then again," she grinned wickedly at Aiden, "you're a typical guy who has a hard time comprehending romance. It's almost unheard of in the males language!"

He was taken aback. "Excuse me? I've heard of romance! I just don't partake in its activities. I don't do that… touchy feely stuff."

"Which is why it's a girl thing," she stuck her tongue out. He huffed and crossed his arms.

Silence hung over the room. Everyone was eating the berries quietly, wondering how the double evolution occurred, or both. Lizette entered the kitchen quietly. Fiddling with her paws, she spoke. "I know a little about double evolution… if you're willing to listen."

She winced under the harsh glares she received from the three males. With a whimper she lowered her head. Vivian, ignoring the angry males, nodded in her direction and encouraged her to continue speaking. Lizette looked to see that Celine was also smiling brightly and nodding. She cleared her throat and began the long explanation.

"Evolution is a process where we obviously become stronger, but the desire to become stronger isn't the only drive that causes an evolution. It has to a deep desire, one that differs from a regular desire. This desire has to be so deep that it motivates the pokémon. This is the essential core that causes a single evolution. Sometimes love and trust does play a key part, but not all the time.

"Double evolutions need two key parts: a deep desire to become stronger, and complete trust or love in their partner. This is what is commonly known as the 'Echoation of Hearts.' In other words, it means the two partners hearts have to mirror each other. It's only ever happened in pairs."

She moved a little closer to Celine. The awkward tension in the air was slowly dissipating for her. It was due to the fact she was in full swing of her explanation and she didn't care too much about the hatred the other's had for her at the moment.

She smiled up at Celine, continuing her explanation. "Let's take the transformation between Aiden and Celine for example. Celine was the first to evolve because of her heart and desire. It became so strong that it became the essential core for the evolution. This desire kept her up and fighting despite the odds. After seeing him get badly injured, something snapped and the barrier preventing her from evolving broke; thus, her next level."

Vivian raised her paw slowly, indicating that she wanted to say something. Lizette nodded. "Why was Aiden able to evolve if the strength was entirely Celine's?"

Lizette smiled brightly. "That's where the process of Echoation of Hearts comes in. His emotions and desire completely mirrored those of Celine. While he didn't snap like Celine, the barrier preventing his evolution broke because of their mirrored hearts. So, before the attack could reach him and fatally injure him, he evolved. Does that make sense?"

"It makes sense," Celine said with a tilt of her head. She furrowed her eyebrows. She hadn't realized that Lizette was that smart. "How did you know so much?"

Lizette blushed, lowering her head, idly kicking at the floor. "Well, I don't just sit at the well all day and wait for juicy gossip. I also spend my spare time at the library. I'm interested in a lot of things. Our world has so many mysteries. They peak my interest."

She flinched when Aiden, his voice like a whip, snorted and said, "So, you claim intelligence? Then where was your _intelligence_ when you told Team Poisonix who Celine was? You're just lucky your little stunt allowed us to evolve! What if we hadn't evolved? Then what? I would be dead, Celine would have been captured, and who knows what kind of danger we'd be in then?"

"I told you that I acted out of jealously and anger!"

"So you were envious and angry enough to risk our lives?" He asked with a snap.

She visibly flinched. "I didn't think it would go _that_ far… I…I didn't know my feelings were strong enough to drive us into…into…"

"Into danger? Into death?" Aiden snarled, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Because of you and your emotional outburst Celine's true form was revealed. Because of _you_ we got into danger that could have ended a whole lot worse than it had!" He crossed his arms. "If it had been me I would've made sure to keep _my emotions in check._"

Lizette suddenly slammed her fists down on the table, startling everyone. "And what would _you_ know about emotions? You were my best friend for years, Aiden! Don't you dare sit there and tell me that you didn't see how _hurt_ I was! Don't you dare sit there and claim _innocence!"_

He snorted, looking away. "I can claim innocence more than you ever could."

Silence hung over the room. She stood there, not trusting herself to say another word. Her form began shaking, tears now falling down her cheek. She sniffled in an attempt to hold back the tears. "And you're Mr. Perfect, aren't you Aiden? I made a horrible mistake. One that I regret deeply, but you don't care… do you? I could get my knees and _beg_ for your forgiveness and you'd still refuse that. If…if I were in your shoes…I would have forgiven you. But you know what? Go ahead and hold that grudge against me. If I could go back in time and stop it… I would! But screw you! Take a page from Celine's book and learn to forgive because no one is perfect!" she screamed and ran out of the house sobbing.

"W-wait! Lizette!" Celine called, getting to her feet to chase after her. Vivian stopped her. Celine looked at her questioningly. Vivian shook her head, soundlessly telling her to let it go for now.

Vivian turned to Aiden, a stern look on her face. "Aiden," she began, "I understand your anger towards her. Her actions did cause you and Celine pain, but think of it this way. No one was hurt, we discovered some of those who are behind the recent troubles, and you two evolved and became stronger for the cause."

"But what if-" he began, only to be cut off. "What if's are done and over with Aiden. Those are in the past now. Everything that was meant to happen has happened. There is nothing more we can do to change that. If you wallow in 'what if's' then you'll never get far in life because you'll always be questioning what could've happened. And sadly… that's something you can't have as an explorer or even as a rescuer. Lizette has apologized countless times. She knows the mistakes that she made. She'll always be haunted by that; do you think it's far to be constantly reminding her and rubbing salt on the wound?"

"No…" he grumbled. "But it still doesn't excuse her."

Vivian let out a sigh. Aiden wasn't getting the point. "Maybe this is something you're not ready to understand."

He shot her a look of surprise. Just what was she saying?

"Love is a powerful weapon and it can be used for good, but it can also be used for evil. Some can be accidents while others are intentional. I believe hers were nothing more than an accident. If you think that she's entirely at fault for what's happened, then you need to look in the mirror because you share just as much blame as she does."

She watched as he jumped to his feet, snarling at her. She remained unmoved and looked at him right in the eyes. His ears went back as he growled and left the room. Celine frowned, having had reached out to him only to be pushed away. Once he was out of the kitchen, she murmured, "This is my fault…"

"It's not," Vivian reassured her with a small smile, "it's just a simple fact of life that we all learn eventually. I hope he doesn't take what I said as an insult."

Celine buried her head in her hands. Everything was happening so fast - her evolution and the hatred between Aiden and Lizette. She could vaguely hear Vivian and the others talking about Team Poisonix and their involvement. She glanced in the direction of Aiden's room.

She was worried about his relationship with Lizette. It bothered her greatly that he hated her so much now. They were childhood friends. They knew each other like the back of their hands.

She could understand why Aiden was so angry. Part of her really couldn't blame him, but at the same time she could understand the logic behind Lizette's motives. They were frail, yes, but they did have meaning behind them. It was clear as day how much Lizette cared for Aiden and how much she regretted her decision.

And no matter which way she looked at it, Lizette had helped them for the better.

She released a sigh, excusing herself from the kitchen. She paused in front of Aiden's bedroom. Should she talk to him? Her hand reached for the knob; he felt betrayed that his best friend had betrayed them, and he needed comfort.

But she stopped herself. Yes, he felt betrayed, but that was only for now. Deep inside she knew that he needed time to heal his wounds.

Settling on her decision, she turned away and entered her bedroom.

She was restless in her bed. The hours ticked by and all she did was toss and turn. Finally, she rested on her back and stared at the wall. Her mind and heart were conflicting. Her heart told her to talk to Aiden, to show that he had someone. But her mind knew that it was a wound that would heal over time. The only thing both her heart and mind could agree on was that Lizette and Aiden shouldn't be fighting each other. There were bigger problems than this little conflict of theirs, and they had years of great memories, which, she knew, surpassed and out-weighed the bad memories.

Celine sat up._ It's not just their friendship at sake,_ she thought. _This is something that our enemy can use against us. And this time it could end much worse. _

She rested her head in her palms. The answer was as clear as day. Nobody else might agree with it, but she couldn't risk having this drama last longer than necessary. Whether they liked it or not, Celine was going to make those two talk and forgive each other.

With that in mind, she doused off.

x-x-x-x

Icy was in her small office. She stood in front of her desk; her back turned to Team Poisonix as they reported their findings to her. She stared at the wall as the information sank in. When they finished and received no response, they looked at each other nervously.

She was not pleased in the slightest. Well, she was a little, but she was more angry than happy. "So," she said, clearing her throat, "you tell me that there is another human turned pokémon around. She already has a team, and has the partners of the captured pokémon on her side. Not only that, but she has evolved as well as her partner? Is this all correct?"

Gothitelle gulped and nodded. "Y-yes."

Icy turned to her. Gothitelle felt her blood run cold the moment Icy's glare caught her. "Have you made an attempt to restrain said human?"

"W-we have, ma'am, but… just when we had her in our grasp her reinforcements arrived and she evolved. We were hopelessly out matched. As I reported… she has the ninetales, Vivian, an absol, Silver, and Grovyle on her side. All of who are leaders or members of the highly known and praised team: Team PokéStars. They are by no means weak."

Icy arched an eyebrow. Gothitelle continued. "She also has two other friends… well, one is debatable… A riolu, err, I mean lucario, named Aiden and a meowstic named Lizette."

Banette approached Icy. "We do not doubt in our ability to stomp them alone, but when those three get involved… it becomes difficult."

Icy gave them a sideways glance, her eyes narrowed. "I am surprised that you have troubles with such weak pokémon."

"But they're not weak!" Seviper insisted. "Or, at least not Team PokéStars."

"So you are asking me for assistance in your failure?" Icy questioned. Each of them hesitantly nodded. "Then allow me to report this to our Master and see what he believes –"

"NO!" All three suddenly shouted. "N-no, please, ma'am," Gothitelle quickly corrected herself.

Icy narrowed her eyes and sighed. "Very well. I will find someone to help you exterminate our… newest problems. As for the human… do not kill her. There is a reason behind us collecting them and not killing them. Bring her here. As for her other friends?" With her finger she motioned cutting her throat, a devious smirk appearing on her face, "get rid of them."

They shivered and left the room as quickly as they could. Icy rested her hands behind her, staring at the door. Part of her expected this to happen. She looked back to her desk and eyed the object on it. "Hmm, I need a test subject. I might as well check out these new problems myself and adjust the plan accordingly."

x-x-x-x

Lizette sighed as she rested along the side of her small house. She'd hardly gotten any sleep the night before and was exhausted. But even then she still couldn't fall asleep. Nightmares of that terrible mistake constantly replayed in her mind. The guilt was eating her alive.

"Lizzy?" Lizette gazed over towards Celine, a look of surprise appearing on her face. Celine stood in front of her with a small frown.

"What's wrong?" Lizette murmured. "Am I in more trouble?"

Celine shook her head. "No, in fact I want you to follow me." Lizette raised her eyebrow questionably.

"Why?"

"Please?" Celine said. "I just want you to come with me. I want to talk."

Lizette sighed; she could already guess what this conversation was going to be about. Finally, she nodded and got to her feet. She followed Celine as she led Lizette towards Aiden's secret spot.

She found herself wondering why they were here. She looked around nervously. "Celine, why are we here? This is-"

"Okay, I'm here," a familiar voice said behind the pair. Aiden jumped down from the tree. He paused, both him and Lizette staring at each other for a moment. Celine winced and braced herself for what was to come. "WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE?!" he finally screamed, pointing an accusing finger at Lizette.

Lizette's ears flattened and she backed away from Aiden. She was about to make a run for it when Celine grabbed her. "Oh no you don't – I brought both of you here for a reason and neither of you are leaving until we complete that reason. First off," she began, placing her hands on her hips to show she meant business, "this 'fight' of yours has to stop. We shouldn't be fighting each other. We should be fighting together!"

"I can't fight next to someone I can't trust," Aiden scowled, turning to leave. He winced when Celine grabbed him harshly and spun him around. She glared at him right in the eyes.

"Tough," she remarked, "you're just going to have to forgive her then."

"This fighting," Celine continued, looking the two, "is ridiculous. Yes, what she did was a bad thing and did cause some harm, but look at the bigger picture! She helped us evolve and become stronger, she helped bring our suspects come forward, and she even has extensive knowledge."

"She could have killed you!" Aiden protested.

Celine snorted. "Coulda, woulda, shoulda. The final result is still the same. We evolved. We became stronger. And we helped the others get a lead on the missing pokémon. Are you going to hold a grudge against her forever? She made _one_ mistake. Big deal! Everyone makes mistakes. And besides, they were going to find out who I was eventually. So it was better she told them now than wait months for them to put the pieces together. They showed themselves and now we know who to be suspicious of."

Aiden crossed his arms. He was going to continue his argument, but Celine raised a hand to stop him. "No, I don't want to hear it. You're basing everything on a 'what if' theory. What if's don't matter anymore, Aiden. She apologized. What more do you want? She can't go back in time and fix her mistakes."

Silence hung over the trio. Celine tapped her foot impatiently, keeping her eyes locked on both Lizette and Aiden. Lizette had her head lowered. She was kicking a little of the dirt around. Aiden, on the other hand, was glaring at her with his arms crossed. When he saw that Celine was giving him a glare, he sighed and threw his hands up in the air.

"I've known her for years, Celine! I never thought that she would be the type to betray me, or my friends. Can you honestly blame me for feeling betrayed?"

"I wasn't trying to betray you… I just wasn't thinking clearly. I really am sorry for that Aiden…" Lizette murmured.

He glared at her. "And what happens the next time you grow jealous and upset with us?"

"I won't do it again!" Lizette shouted. She looked at him with teary eyes, clenching her sides as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I wasn't thinking! And I'm sorry for hurting you! What else do you want me to say or do?"

"Scolding you is like scolding a child. You should've already known right from wrong! I just don't know if I can trust you after you put our lives in danger like that. Jealousy and anger are one thing, betraying someone and telling people other people's real identities is another thing." He sighed, his shoulders sagging.

"You love her." Lizette said bluntly. Celine's face turned bright red. "That's why you're so angry."

Aiden went stiff. He was ready to protest against the idea, but then he thought about it. Did he love her? Were his feelings for her stronger than he thought? And what if he did? He frowned; he knew that answer. It would mean he was far more protective of her than anyone else. With a sigh, he nodded, acknowledging the feelings.

Celine stood there with her mouth agape. Her face grew redder by the minute.

"So, I do," he finally said, "but that doesn't mean anything in this little debate."

Lizette put her hands on her hips. "It does," she began, sighing. She approached him carefully, not sure if he felt comfortable enough for her to be near him. Aiden kept his eye on her. "It means that you're very sensitive to any type of danger that might come and hurt Celine."

"S-stop!" Celine said, jumping between the two while flailing her arms. Lizette snickered, unable to keep her chuckles contained. Aiden went stiff again. His face turned bright red. He quickly turned away with his head up in the air. He'd totally forgotten that she was there!

"H-how long have you been standing there?" he asked.

"Excuse me?!" she yelled, baffled, "I've been here the whole time!"

Lizette watched the exchange with a smile. She didn't show it, but the pain was gripping her heart. "So," she cleared her throat, "this got awkward awfully quick. But I don't see why you two are so embarrassed!"

Celine continued flailing her arms around wildly, her face growing more crimson with each passing second. The action made Lizette laugh. Celine started stuttering that this wasn't the situation they were supposed to be focused on. Lizette would roll her eyes and tease her.

Aiden was watching the commotion with a smile, but his smile quickly faded. He flickered his eyes in the direction of the woods, closing them a moment later to see what was there.

Both of the girls went silent after seeing his ears rise. Celine automatically knew that something was up, narrowing her eyes and eyeing the spot that Aiden had been. Lizette, curious as to what was going on, moved a little closer to Aiden.

Suddenly, a raichu came flying out from the woods and crashed right into Celine. The impact sent both pokémon flying into the nearby pond. "C-celine!" Lizette gasped.

Celine splashed around in the water. She stopped a second later, blushing when she realized that she was still in shallow water. Her attention went to the raichu who swam over to the shore with a big grin on his face.

"Jaxon!" Aiden and Lizette jumped as an arcanine rushed past them and stood worriedly at the edge of the pond. "Are you alright?!"

The raichu burst out into a fit of laughter. "Dude, that was fun! Let's do that again!"

"No!" the arcanine yelled, her ears flattening against her skull. "You could've been seriously hurt! You went flying past branches and bushes! You should be grateful that you only have a few minor cuts and bruises!"

She paused, noticing Celine for the first time. She looked behind her to see Aiden in a fighting stance with Lizette staring at her curiously. The arcanine dipped her head and groaned. "And apparently you knocked these pokémon's friend into the water! I'm terribly sorry for this."

Jaxon rolled his eyes, grinning as he leaned on the grass. "Oh c'mon!" The arcanine glared at him. He responded by sticking out his tongue, huffing, and looking away like a child.

Celine, now out of the water, shook feverously to shake off the water. Aiden walked over to her slowly while keeping an eye on the strange pokémon. The two continued their childish fight until Jaxon finally caved in and got out of the water. He shook himself off right next to arcanine, purposefully getting her wet in the process.

She snarled at him. "If I hadn't promised Nyla that I wouldn't chew off your head, you'd be mouse food by now!"

He began dancing around her, taunting her. Eventually he stopped and leaned against her. "Aww, love you too Kally."

Her right eye began twitching. "For your information," she began, "my name is Kalista. _Kalista._" She rolled her eyes and smiled innocently at the trio of pokémon in front of her. "I am terribly sorry for intruding. We're kinda of looking for a friend and we heard rumors that there was a team out here the missing pokémon."

Aiden and Celine exchanged looks. Were they talking about Vivian and Silver?

"We might be able to help you with that," Aiden said slowly, keeping his eye on the raichu as he made faces at his reflection in the pond, "you see, our friends have dedicated themselves in finding those responsible for the pokenapping of human turned pokémon. You might have heard of them. They're widely known as Team PokéStars."

"Team PokéStars?!" Kalista gasped eagerly. "Of course we know about them! It's them that we should be thankful to for stopping the darkness from taking over our worlds!"

"I'm not at all surprised…" Lizette laughed weakly. She looked at Aiden and Celine, both nodding, before she went on to tell Kalista about Vivian and Silver. They were surprised when Kalista explained that they, too, were looking for a friend of theirs who went missing. "Her name is Nyla. She has a heart of gold… that is, if she's not too busy staring at her reflection… then she might ignore us for an hour. I'm not sure if you've heard of us, but we're known as Team Echo Hearts. She's our leader."

Much to everyone's surprise, minus Kalista, Jaxon became serious. "She went missing on her way to one of our friends homes. She told me that she wanted to ask them out on a mission, but she never returned. When I went over to check out where she was, I found out that she never made it there. We've been searching our homeland for her, but nobody saw her. When we filed a missing pokémon case, we learned about the exploration team out here who is leading the charge to find human turned pokémon."

He eyed Celine in particular. "And it would appear a new human is here to help, huh?"

Celine was baffled. Aiden instantly became defensive. Kalista frowned and looked at Jaxon. "What makes you say that?"

"Her scent," he answered simply. His answer caused the feline to blush and instinctively cover herself, feeling partially violated. He later added, "I mean nothing bad of it. But believe it or not, we have come across other human turned pokémon in the past and I've learned that they have a different scent than that of a regular pokémon. Thankfully, nobody else has picked up on this."

Kalista quickly added her own input to settle things down. "We try our best to help them, but by the time we see them, they're already in pairs. Which is a good thing – humans wouldn't last in this world very long on their own. Especially because of the legends and how humans are connected to them. They're targets for those who have evil intentions. Though I must confess… I'm confused as to why human turned pokémon who have completed their duty and saved the world already are being targeted now."

"We shouldn't talk here," Lizette said, scanning the around. Aiden agreed with a nod of his head. "We'll tell you more, but for now we have to leave."

x-x-x-x

A scream woke Annabelle from her slumber. Sill drowsy, she lifted her head to examine her room for the source of the screaming. "N-no! Unhand me, you vile fiends!"

It took her a minute to recognize the voice. It was Nyla! She immediately scanned Nyla's cage, horrified when she saw that she wasn't there. "Eek! Don't touch – oh, don't touch _there!_ You have _no_ idea how long it took me to get my hair like this!"

Her protests continued, but eventually faded out. Annabelle pressed herself against the bars of her cage, straining her ears as she stared down the dark hallway. She backed away from the bars. What happened to Nyla?!

Annabelle frowned inwardly when Icy appeared before her. She was wearing a satisfied smirk. "Why, good evening! How was your sleep?"

"It was wonderful until I heard my friend screaming. What have you done to her?" Annabelle flattened her ears against her skull.

Icy appeared to be pondering on something. "I figure I should let you in on a little something," she began with a cruel smile, "your friends have become quite the nuisance! You practiced very well in the art of annoying others."

"We try very hard to annoy pokémon like you," Annabelle snorted. "We refuse to let you bring this world into darkness."

"That's quite the commitment to a world that you don't belong in." Icy slowly paced in front of her cell, her smirk only growing; Annabelle narrowed her eyes. Something was up and she could sense it. She didn't like the evil grin on the female weaviles face. "I do belong here."

"And that's where your wrong," Icy said as she stopped in her tracks, eyeing the leafeon from the corner of her eye. A chill ran down Annabelle's spine as she backed away instinctively. "You are outsiders who do not belong in our world. You are merely given a little power to make yourselves feel like you are one of us.

"You are not _true_ pokémon, like me, my master, or even those who have deluded themselves into thinking that you are their friend. And pretty soon those who worship humanoids like you will scorn you, wishing away your very existence!"

She chuckled as horror washed over Annabelle's face. Standing next to Icy was Nyla, but something was wrong with her. Her pelt was a darker shade of yellow; the fur around her neck, tail, and ears were now a shade of dark blue. Her eyes remained the same, but at the same time they were different.

Icy began laughing loudly, clearly pleased with the result. She put a hand on her hip, swaying it slightly to the side.

Annabelle continued to back away. All of it – their capture, the reason why they were still in one piece, and the part they played in all of this became perfectly clear. They were captured for the sole purpose of convincing other pokémon that they were dangerous and couldn't be trusted. Then, while the wave of distrust grew, this band of pokémon would rise and 'defeat' the army of human turned pokémon.

"You plan on using us to prove a point…" Annabelle murmured. Her fears were confirmed when Icy nodded.

"Your delusional if you think that plan will work," Annabelle said, her eyes narrowing. "Our friends will find us and rescue us."

"That is," Icy began, examining her fingernails as if they were more interesting than the topic at hand, "if they can find you in time… or if they even survive my next onslaught."

She lifted her gaze. She could almost taste the fear rolling off the trapped leafeon. It was delicious.

Annabelle refused to back down. "What happens after you've supposedly defeated the 'bad guys?'" she asked, catching the weavile off guard. "Sure, they'll celebrate your victory, but it won't be for long. It'll soon pass, like a whisper in the wind. And even then, your ample supply will quickly diminish. Humans – after this world has fallen – would stop coming. So, in other words, your victory wouldn't be ongoing. So what then?"

Icy was speechless. She'd never thought about it. She just thought about getting rid of the human turned pokémon. She fidgeted. "W-well, my master would be well respected! His name would go down in history as the heroic pokémon who saved us from dangerous pokémon such as yourself!"

"And what part of me is seemingly so dangerous?!"

"Do I even really need to say the evils that are pokémon like _you_?" Icy spat. "At the very least we'll have a leader who will take care of scum like you!"

And that was the final straw. Annabelle snarled as she said, "So you think your master will rule over this world? Do you think the other pokémon will want that?"

Icy huffed and stuck her head in the air, a sense of authority surrounding her. "Of course they would! They wouldn't suffer under his rule; they would prosper! He cares about our world more than anyone! He knows the suffering that your types bring down. Your kind sets off the balance! Once pokémon like _you_ are gone, the balance will be proper once more and our world will grow!"

She spun, pausing a brief second later. She shook with rage. "Your plan to make me falter failed. You better find other ways to convince me!" As she left, nearby guards escorted Nyla back into her cage where she sat. Annabelle stared at her hopelessly.


	7. Overcoming Her Fear

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 6: Overcoming Her Fear

It was safe to say that the members of Team Echo Hearts and Team PokéStars hit it off immediately. Namely, Vivian and Kalista. The two fire-types quickly bonded at first sight. In their short time together, they shared stories involving their leaders and dearest friends. They spoke of their adventures and hardships they faced. While neither said it aloud, they were surprised to see how similar they felt about their comrade and friend. Both were happy that there was another pokémon out there who understood what it meant to be a friend to a former human.

Jaxon, being the second in command of Team Echo Hearts, especially knew what felt like. But under his carefree exterior was a worried raichu wondering about the welfare of his best friend. But he wouldn't show that side to the newcomers.

His façade didn't fool Kalista, however. She knew he was faking his happiness for the sake of not worrying the others. She remembered just how hard it hit him when the news of Nyla's disappearance reached their ears.

He was currently agitating the newest member of Team Cosmic, Lizette. She had her nose stuck in an old book. She was trying to gather information that could help her team. She knew she was no fighter like Celine and Aiden, but she knew how to gather information and she was positive that what she could get was something they could use.

Her right eyebrow twitched occasionally as Jaxon batted at her tails. He would giggle, knowing that he was annoying the meowstic. She shot him dirty looks and asked him to stop. He would shrug it off and continue his pestering. Eventually, she exploded, putting down her book, and chased Jaxon around the house.

The commotion was enough to alert the two outside. Aiden and Celine, practicing with their new skills, watched as Jaxon raced out of the house with Lizette hot on his tail.

He raced past them, laughing all the way, and jumped on the branch of a nearby tree. Lizette stood at the foot of the tree and huffed. "Haha! You can't get me!" he taunted, making faces at her.

She gasped and hissed at him. She snorted, sticking her head in the air, and turned away from the raichu. "Please do not bother me when I'm reading!"

"You're such a _bore_!" he whined.

She glared at him form the corner of her eye. "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm in the middle of collecting information to help my team!"

He stared at her, a bored look coloring his features. He sighed and slumped on the branch. "Bookworm…" he pouted.

She stuck out her tongue. "I rather know what to expect and how I can help rather than stand there and look like a fool!"

Jaxon rolled his eyes, watching the psychic-type pokémon stroll away from him. His ears flickered at the sound of giggles. He looked over to their source: Celine. She was watching Lizette walk away with her head in the air.

He leaned against his arm. He wondered how Celine felt when she discovered she wasn't a human anymore. He felt a smile come on as he remembered the fond memories of when Nyla first arrived. It was hard to believe that they were both evolved and grown; he sometimes still saw her as a little skitty who braved against everything that happened.

Jaxon gazed at the sky. Was she all right? He certainly hoped so. He couldn't help chuckling as he pictured her yelling at her captives about her hair. She was always playing with her hair. He found it odd, but she always told him that a "rescuer must always look their best."

"I'm glad to see you really smiling again. Remember something funny?" Jaxon looked down at the foot of the tree to see Vivian and Kalista standing there. Kalista was smiling at him.

He shrugged. "Just thinking about Nyla and her odd obsession over her hair."

Kalista laughed. "Yes, always into her hair! I can imagine she's giving anyone grief with her rant about how her hair should look. It sounds just like her!" She frowned, seeing that his smile was no longer there.

"We'll find her," she reassured. "She's counting on us."

Jaxon nodded. "I know, but I still can't help but worry about her."

"I know how you feel," Vivian said, catching the raichu's attention, "my partner is almost the same. She's always getting herself into trouble! Thankfully they're nothing ever really serious. But cheer up. Worrying about it won't help. Like we count on them, they count on us. After saving us, it's our turn to save them. I'm positive that our partners and friends are just fine."

He nodded, a smile once again gracing his features. "I wonder what they're talking about." Kalista thought aloud, eyeing Aiden, Celine, and Lizette. The three were in a circle talking about something. It looked serious, judging by Aiden's expression.

While Kalista and Vivian worked on cheering up Jaxon, Lizette came across something odd and strange.

As the newest member of Team Cosmic, she was determined to find something to help her friends grow. She wasn't confident in her ability to fight, but she certainly was confident in her ability to gain information. This newfound determination led her to an old book that she'd found in the library. It was dusty and worn. The text faded out in a lot of spots, much to Lizette's dismay.

But eventually she found something that demanded her attention. In large, bold, and somewhat faded text the words "Super Evolution," introduced the page. Unfortunately, most of the page was worn out, especially around the bits of information that spoke about what was required to achieve this power. The only key information she understood was that it was a process to help pokémon become stronger; it was more power beyond their final evolved forms.

Interested in this process, she scanned the rest of the book for any more information. She was disappointed to learn that there was no other information about it.

She closed the book. Just who would know anything about this? The book seemed so old and tattered that she didn't believe anyone in their hometown would know anything about it.

It was around the time that Kalista, Vivian, and Jaxon looked over to see that Aiden and Celine had approached her. "What's up?" Celine asked.

"I found something promising, but there's hardly any info about it. Most of the text is worn out, and I doubt the librarians would know anything about it." Lizette sighed.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I found this book in the older sections of the library. A section hardly anyone knows about. They bypass it because they're not sure the information there is legit. And I can't think of anyone who could help."

"What's this 'promising' information you spoke about?" Aiden asked as he folded his arms.

Lizette turned back to the page about Super Evolution and showed it to them. As they examined it, she explained. "It's a process called Super Evolution and it's supposed to grant strength beyond a pokémon's final evolved form. Though it doesn't say much else; it doesn't say what's required or anything. Just some old legend about how it was used long ago. I wish they specified how long ago!"

Celine moved her hands over her mouth in surprise. "More power beyond our final forms? That _does_ sound promising!"

Aiden nodded in agreement. "There has to be someone who knows something about it. I don't think there's anyone in our town who would."

Celine tilted her head as she tapped her chin in thought. She brightened when an idea came to mind. "What about Zoroark?"

"Excuse me?" Aiden asked. His ears went back, indicating he already hated the idea she was gong to say. "What about him?"

"He might know something. After all, he did mention that his family has been helping heroes from afar. I'm positive that if they had any legends, they would've passed it down."

Lizette perked right up. "That sounds like a wonderful idea!"

"Whoa! Hold it!" he said, putting up his paws to stop them from getting ahead of themselves. "He said that he would send us something when he thought that we were ready to challenge him. Let's say we do find him; he'll think we'll challenging him."

"That's why I'll bringing this!" Lizette held up the book. "Before he even has the chance to attack, I'll tell him that we're not there to challenge him. That we're only there because we came across something that we believe only he would know. Certainly that would make him pause!"

Celine nodded in agreement. "He's not a brute, Aiden! I'm sure he'll ask instead of randomly attacking us!"

"Could've fooled me when we first met…" he grumbled. Celine rolled her eyes.

Lizette offered a weak smile. "I know you don't like him after what happened, but if this can help you two get stronger, I think it's worth looking into. Don't you agree?"

"I do, but…" Aiden began, but paused when Celine raised a paw to silence him. "You worry too much," she grinned, "it is something worth looking into, Aiden. He wouldn't hurt us. He was testing us last time. Now we're just visiting him for information that could help us save this world! He's not a brute – he'll listen."

Aiden opened his mouth to protest, but immediately shut it. He knew that they were right, but he still didn't trust Zoroark. His last visit hadn't put him in Aiden's good graces. But he knew it didn't matter if he disliked the idea or not. As loathsome as it was, they did have a point. Zoroark was their only lead.

He sighed. He'd just need to trust the girls.

"What are you guys talking about? It seems pretty serious judging by Aiden's sour expression," Vivian chuckled as she approached the trio. Celine and Lizette smiled and nodded in her direction.

"We found something that just might help us get stronger. Though… our only lead is Zoroark and we have no clue where to find him!" Lizette looked at Celine, distressing over that small bit of detail. "We don't even know where to begin…"

Kalista tilted her head curiously. Vivian, noticing this, turned to her. "I take you've never heard of him?" Kalista shook her head. "Well," Vivian continued, "he's a pokémon that left a rather… strange impression on us. He came here under the guise of Grovyle and attacked Celine. Apparently he's a master of illusion. Wouldn't surprise me if he were prankster either. He later justified his actions, saying that he was 'making sure Celine was strong enough for the trials ahead.'"

"He sounds like a fantastic guy…" Kalista laughed weakly. "Are you sure you guys can trust him?"

Celine was the one to answer. "Of course!" she said. "He's doing it to protect the pokémon by making sure it's supposed hero isn't someone weak. It's perfectly understandable."

"I'm sure if you were weak you wouldn't have been sent here to help solve our predicament…" Aiden grumbled. Celine glared at him.

"Oh you two, calm down." Kalista said. "I might be able to help. What does he look like?"

"He's tall, black with red markings… and…"

"…and he looks like a bipedal fox with a pony-tail mane." Celine finished, smirking as Vivian blushed.

"Not one for descriptions, are you?" Kalista teased.

Vivian's blush reddened. "Hey! In my self-defense we only saw him once!"

Kalista snickered and waved her paw. "Alright, alright, I think I get gist. Now… the description you gave me sounds an awful lot like the pokémon we saw in Greenfall Forest."

Celine immediately perked up. "You've seen him?"

"I _think_," Kalista specified. "I could have mistaken him for another pokémon."

Celine frowned, then brightened up again. "I have a great idea!"

She began walking towards the forest behind the house. Aiden arched an eyebrow curiously. "What the heck is she doing?"

"Celine being Celine…" Lizette said.

"ZOROARK!" Everyone winced, immediately covering their ears. Lizette jumped, blinking wildly at Celine's sudden yell. "ZOROARK!"

"What in blazes are you doing?!" Aiden yelled.

"I'M CALLING FOR ZOROARK!" she screamed, making the fighting-type flinch. "ZOROARK!"

"Stop with the yelling!" Jaxon cried, covering his ears. "What the heck are you hoping to accomplish?"

She turned to them, blushing when she saw their angry stares. "Well, he did say that he would be nearby. He told us that it was his family duty to watch over the heroes… so I figured he might be near us."

Lizette face palmed. "Did you forget that Aiden has the ability to sense other pokémon in the area? You could've asked him to scan the area to see if there was another pokémon signature that we aren't aware of…"

Celine chuckled weakly. "Well, it was an idea…"

Kalista shook her head. "I wouldn't be surprised if the pokémon in the nearby town heard you and wonder if you're sane…"

"He's not near us." Aiden said, having checked the area with his aura ability.

Celine huffed and folded her arms. "So then we better head towards Greenfall Forest."

"I will not be tagging along," Vivian said, turning her head to see Silver and Grovyle waiting for her near the woods. "We have a lead and we want to chase it. Kalista and Jaxon offered to stay behind. Is this alright with you guys?"

Aiden and Celine exchanged looks. "Where's the lead?"

"Rocky Meadows."

"Good luck!" Celine smiled. "And I think it's totally fine that these two stay behind. Just don't cause a mess, otherwise we'll never hear the end of it from Mr. Neat!"

"Hey!" Aiden protested. Celine playfully stuck her tongue at him.

"Thank you for your good wishes. Same to you three as well." Vivian nodded her head in farewell before chasing after Grovyle and Silver. Kalista was watching them until they vanished, a frown appearing on her face. She felt uneasy about letting them go. She turned back to the others to see Lizette getting up and dusting herself off.

"Well sitting here won't get us anywhere. We better be on our way. Greenfall Forest is known for its tranquility and serenity. We shouldn't have to worry too much about fighting other pokémon. I've read about the place, so I know where it is and what to expect."

Celine cheered. She ran into the house, coming out a moment later with a purple bag. Their team badge was attached to it. She grinned confidentially as she put her hands on her hips. "NOW I feel like I'm ready to take on anything!"

"Where did she get the bag?" Lizette asked. Aiden sighed, shaking his head. "She bought it from one of the shops in town. She wanted to use it after she evolved."

"And it works out so much better than I predicted! Originally I was planning to make _you_ carry it, Aiden, but now that my body is bigger and better, I can do it on my own!" The fire-type fox began laughing, causing her two friends to stare at her in worry.

"I think she's finally lost it," Lizette murmured to Aiden. He nodded in agreement.

Jaxon strolled over, raising his eyebrow questionably. Kalista shook her head. "You don't want to ask."

"Good, I wasn't planning on it. By the way, where can we find a map of this region? I thought it would be best that Kalista and I familiarize ourselves while we wait for Team PokéStars to return."

Lizette tilted her head. "I actually have two maps; one for us, and one as a spare. It's at my house. I can give you directions if you'd like."

The electric mouse nodded. "Thanks, we'd like that."

As she gave him directions to her house, Aiden and Celine stood off to the side. Aiden was scanning the forest, mentally preparing himself for what was to come. Despite what Lizette said, he was still wary of the place. He wouldn't have been surprised if the pokémon were a little more hostile due to the recent natural disasters and growing unease.

Celine could also feel his uneasiness. She wasn't sure if he was afraid of other pokémon attacking them, or if he was worried that Team Poisonix would try to ambush them. Either way, she could understand his worry. She put her hand on his shoulder, earning his gaze, and smiled reassuringly.

He returned the smile, putting his own paw over hers. The gesture made her blush, but she didn't remove her hand or say anything. She looked out towards the forest, also mentally preparing herself for the worst.

-x-x-x-x-

The trip was a lot smoother than either Aiden or Celine had expected, but a little bumpier than Lizette expected. Some of the pokémon did attack them out of fear, but they were easily defeated by the fire-type and fighting/steel-type.

As the trio approached the deepest part of the forest, Lizette felt herself become uneasy. There was something in the air that set off all her alarm bells. She had stopped about five times, either startled by a sound in the forest or paranoia that someone was watching them.

Eventually they came across a small clearing. Aiden and Celine were in awe of its beauty, but Lizette flinched inwardly. Her hair was standing on end. She backed away, whimpering. Celine looked at her curiously.

"I have a bad feeling about this place…" she explained, looking around. "Something just doesn't feel right!"

Celine walked in the middle of the clearing much to Aiden's dislike. "I don't see anything. And nothing seems wrong. What do you think-"

Suddenly there was a roar, startling the trio. A second later a large tree-like pokémon appeared behind Celine. Before she even had the chance to spin around and defend herself, she was sent flying past Aiden and Lizette. Lizette screeched in horror, running behind another tree in fear.

Aiden instantly attacked the pokémon. But panic rose within him as he realized that his attacks were fazing right through the pokémon. He managed to block an attack from the pokémon, but winced. "What the heck? My attacks aren't even affecting him!"

Lizette popped her head out from behind the tree. She had a calculating gaze, horror washing over her face as she realized just who the pokémon was. "H-he's a ghost-type, that's why!" she called. "That's Trevenant; he's a ghost and grass type! Psychical attacks have no effect on him!"

She screeched in fear again as a shadowy blob flew past her. She instantly cowered. She jammed her eyes shut_._ She yelled out again as another shadow ball hit the tree she was hiding behind. She ran behind another tree, hugging herself. Fear was quickly grabbing a hold of her. She was beyond terrified!

She heard a grunt to her left. Looking over, she saw Celine wincing as she stood. "C-celine! He's a ghost type – physical attacks don't affect him!"

"Then I'll just burn him!" she growled, whipping out the stick that hid in her tail. She was ready to shoot the fire attack when Lizette jumped in front of her. "STOP!"

"W-what are you doing?"

"If you attack him with fire, you risk the chance of setting the entire forest on fire! It would do more harm than good!" Celine bit her lip and glared at the trevelant. Aiden was still fighting him, but it was easy to tell that his energy was depleting fast.

"Do Psychic type attacks work against him?"

"They should…" Lizette said. Celine didn't waste another second. She jumped back into the fray, using her psybeam to even the odds and buy Aiden some time to recover. Lizette frowned as she watched her friends attack and defend themselves.

"L-lizette, help us!" Aiden called.

Lizette quickly lost her nerve and backed away. "I…I can't! I'm too scared!"

"I've seen you fight, Lizzy, I know that you can do it!"

"But those were just practice dummies!" she countered. "They're nothing like the real things!"

She winced as she watched him get slammed into a nearby tree, his painful cry echoing throughout the forest. _I have to help!_ She took a step forward, but instantly took two steps back, her ears going back in fear. _B-but… I'm not a fighter! What if I miss and I hit one of them?_

Shaking her head, she ran over to the injured fighting-type. "A-are you okay?"

"Lizzy, we need you to help… we can't fight this thing on our own!" He winced, trying to get back on his feet. She gasped in horror at the sight of his wound. "But…but… you're hurt! You can't fight anymore than I could! I'm not much of a fighter - you know that! I don't practice that stuff – I practice reading books! I've never fought a _real_ pokémon!"

"LIZETTE! WATCH OUT!"

"Huh…?" Lizette turned to see the trevelant right behind her, it's gaze locked on her small frame. Her body froze, her eyes going wide. It took this chance of momentary fright, swiping her off the ground and raised her in the air. It made sure to tighten its grip around her small body. She screamed in agony, pleading for him to stop.

Aiden tried attacking the ghost/grass type again, but met with the same results as before. His attacks fazed right through with the trevelant counter attacking him a second later. He winced as he went flying, landing right next to Celine.

"L-lemme go!" Lizette sobbed, struggling to get free. Her screams got louder as he tightened his hold on her.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw Celine falter in her attack. It was obvious that she was afraid of hurting the small cat-like pokémon in her attempt to free her. The idea of her concern warmed the psychic-type cat, but she could feel her panic rising.

She tried to formulate a way to get out of the pokemon's grasp, but the pain was making it hard to think. She could see black around the edges of her eyesight. She shook her head and continued to struggle. Then she froze, an idea hitting her. It was risky, but it was the only shot she had.

"A-a-attack him!" she cried. "Don't worry about me! Just attack him!"

Celine's eyebrows crunched up in worry, but after a moment of internal debate, she shot her psybeam attack. While it wasn't doing much in terms of damage, it provided Lizette the distraction she needed.

Trevelant roared in pain, glaring at Celine. She got into a firm fighting stance, her hands readying another psybeam attack.

Suddenly a blueish glow outlined both the trevelant and Lizette herself. Her eyes were glowing with a bright yellow light, her ears unraveled to reveal two more 'psychic' eyes in which started to glow as well. The trevelant growled as he felt his grip on the small cat-like pokémon loosening.

Once free, she floated in the air momentarily before a shadowy blob took form between her two hands. With a war cry, she shot it directly into the trevelants face. He roared out in agony, toppling over.

Lizette landed on the ground a second later, but quickly fell to her knees. She didn't have much time to relax as the tree like pokémon reared up once more. "Lizette!"

Lizette gazed over to see Celine readying up another psybeam. "Your attack was effective him! Do it again! I'll distract him!"

And so, while the trevelant was busy with Celine and her psybeam attacks, Lizette was busying herself by creating another shadow ball. In the back of her mind she was overwhelmingly surprised with herself. She was fighting! And turning the tides in their favor! This feeling she had… the feeling of her adrenaline rising to its max was invigorating. What's more, a sense of pride was filling her.

And for once in her life, it wasn't her being saved. It was her saving others.

With one last cry, she fired the shadow ball at the trevelant. Overwhelmed by both pokémon, the trevelant let out one last cry of shrill pain before collapsing.

Nobody moved from their spots. Celine remained in her fighting stance, ready to pounce at moments notice. Lizette was also in a fighting stance, but was backing away from the trevelant. Aiden, on the other hand, was picking himself off the ground.

"I think it's over," he said. "You two can relax now."

Celine let out the breath she hadn't known she was holding. Lizette crumbled to the ground, relief washing over her like a tidal wave. Celine and Aiden took this the wrong way and ran over to check to see if she was hurt.

She smiled at the two. "I'm fine. I've just… never fought before. And it felt wonderful. I'm so sorry that it took me so long to jump into the fight. My nerves were getting the better of me."

"Think that'll fade now?" Lizette shook her head with a frown. "I doubt it, but it should gradually go away. I'm not so terrified now. Besides," she smiled at both her friends, "I will conquer this fear so I can better help those dear to me."

"I must say that was a very interesting battle," a familiar voice said, catching the trio's attention. "I can see all three of you are growing, two of which have grown a lot since I last saw you."

"Zoroark!" Celine brightened upon seeing the fox-like pokémon.

"I watched the fight. I was debating on whether or not I should jump in, but I'm glad that I decided against it. But I'm sure that's not why you came here – to show me how much you've grown, I mean." he said, folding his arms in front of his chest.

As Celine explained their reasoning's for being there, Lizette went through their team bag and brought the book out. She walked over to him and presented it. "I found this in the library back in town and it contained something very interesting. However, most the information is all but gone due to its age. I was told that your family has been watching over the human turned pokémon, so I assumed that you might know more about this."

He examined the book, flipping right to the page that Lizette had bookmarked. He let out a small chuckle. "Now this is something I haven't seen in a long time."

"You've heard of it?" Lizette asked, eager to know more.

He nodded. "Yes, it's one of many family legends passed down. Though it's an extremely old tale; one that dates back to ancient times when humans actually inhabited our world. This is not the place to discuss it though." He scanned the tree lines. "You never know when one has followed you in pursuit of the truth. Come now," he said, walking away.

Aiden and the others exchanged looks, but complied. Five minutes later, they arrived at a small house. They were surprised to see the scenery change upon entering the house. "It's an illusion," he said, "to keep intruders out."

"You get many of those?" Aiden asked skeptically. Zoroark shook his head. "No, but the times are growing more dangerous. So I'm not taking any chances. Before we head into this long conversation about this legend, I suggest all of you get comfortable."

Once he believed that they were all settled and comfortable, he cleared his throat. "As I have said earlier, I am familiar with this legend. Before I get into the specific details, allow me to correct the book. It's not called Super Evolution; it's called Mega Evolution. It is a process that allows pokémon to temporarily evolve further past their final evolved form. It was rather beautiful, or so I have heard. However, it doesn't just require one thing. It requires four major components. The first two things required are items that can be found. They are called the Mega Bracelet and the Mega Stone. The last two things are rather simple, and come from the heart."

Lizette leaned in, her ears perked up. "Where can we find this mega bracelet and the mega stone?"

"Well, there are various types of mega stones. Each pokémon has their own specific mega stone. For example, a lucario's mega stone would be called a lucarionite. Charizard's being charizardite, gardevoir's being gardevoirite, and so on. They must acquire this mega stone and use it in tune with their human partners mega bracelet. I cannot tell you the location of the mega bracelet, as I do not know where it is myself. However, I don't think the process would work anymore. Humans have all but vanished from our world." Zoroark leaned against his wall, watching the trio's faces fall.

He sighed and closed his eyes. "I am sorry for crushing your hopes."

"Wait," Lizette suddenly blurted, getting to her feet, "what about Celine? She's not exactly a pokémon – well, okay, her _body_ is, but what about her soul?"

Zoroark raised his eyebrow. "I don't think it matters. Her soul wouldn't make a difference. Why do you ask?"

"Because she wasn't originally a pokémon," Lizette said, "so I'm thinking that she might be an exception to the rules. The mega bracelet might still work for her considering she was once a human!"

Celine jumped to her feet. "Yeah! It still might work for me considering I was a human!"

"If it did work, then you'd have to find a compatible partner." Zoroark eyed Aiden, who in turn raised his eyebrow questioningly. Then it dawned on him. He quickly lowered his head in embarrassment.

Celine didn't quite understand why he was nervous, but she beamed. "Then my partner would be Aiden! After all, you did say that the first pokémon we befriended would be our 'true' partner! So it makes sense!"

Lizette couldn't help but snicker as she noticed Aiden's blush.

Zoroark suddenly dashed outside of his house, startling the three pokémon. They quickly followed after him outside to see him glaring in the direction of a figure running away. "It would appear to be that you were followed." Zoroark said.

"I'm so sorry," Celine said, her ears going back in shame, "we hadn't realized that we were being followed."

He said nothing at first. "It's not your fault. This pokémon had eluded my senses as well. I'm not sure how they managed it, but it's very concerning. Did you sense anything Aiden?"

The fighting type shook his head. "No, I hadn't sensed anything at all."

Lizette looked surprise. "It eluded _both_ of your senses?"

Both of the females exchanged worried looks. They weren't sure if it was normal for Zoroark, but they knew for a fact that Aiden could detect other pokémon in the area. For it to have evaded his senses was alarming. "Did you see who it was at least?"

"No," Zoroark said, shaking his head, "strangely enough the pokémon was wearing a cloak to hide it's identity." He frowned, turning back to enter the house. "If I were you, I'd be careful treading back home. Unless you have further questions?"

"No," Lizette said. "I pretty much got everything I could think of. Oh, wait, is there an easier way to get in contact with you incase something does pop up?"

Zoroark shook his head. Lizette's shoulder slumped; she was disappointed that she'd have to travel back here in case she had any further questions.

Team Cosmic bade farewell to Zoroark and made the long journey home. The trip was quiet, each of them thinking about what they learned about mega evolution and the sudden appearance of the cloaked pokémon.

-x-x-x-x-

It was late when they got home. Lizette dragged her feet to one of the guest rooms. Celine was surprised the cat-like pokémon made it there without falling to the ground and falling asleep right there.

Aiden and Celine heard the light snoring of Kalista and Jaxon as they slept in the living room portion of the house. Aiden went to check the other rooms, but found no sign of Team PokéStars. "Perhaps their mission was much longer than we thought?"

He jumped at the sound of Celine's voice. "Y-yeah, probably. Well, I'm going to retire for the night. Goodnight!"

She watched him leave, frowning as he rushed to his bedroom. "Goodnight…"

She slowly entered her own bedroom. Her mind was on Aiden. Why had he suddenly become so distant? Did he feel that she hadn't shared his feelings of love? She groaned and collapsed right on her makeshift bed.

Everything was happening so fast. She did care deeply for Aiden. The thought of being separated from him was enough for her heart to ache. Her pain only grew as she thought about what would happen when she completed her mission. Would she be forced to leave?

She winced. She didn't want to think about that. Their mission wasn't over yet. Sighing, she decided that she would leave the discussion alone and see what would happen from here on out.

Nightmares would plague her that night.


	8. The Warnings of Nightmares

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 7: The Warnings of Nightmares

Icy paced in her room with her hands resting behind her back. Her head was spinning with the new information she had discovered during her little adventure.

It hadn't been exactly what she planned, but the ending result proved worthwhile. She had planned to follow Team Cosmic, learn their daily activates, find the flaws and weakness' of their team and use it against them, and finally, when the chance presented itself, capture the remaining human turned pokémon.

Instead of this though, she followed them through the forest and towards Zoroark's house. She learned of the possibility to become stronger - to obtain more power beyond her final form. It sounded absolutely exhilarating. Unfortunately for her, he had no information regarding the whereabouts of the items required. And as far as she knew, there were no books in their library concerning the existence of such items.

She tapped her chin in thought. What about her Master? Would he know something? He is, after all, older than all of them and is very wise. She sighed and scratched the back of her head.

Even if he did know something, what good would it do for them? They wouldn't be able to use it against enemy forces. No, in order to do that they would need a human partner and that was simply unacceptable!

A mischievous grin spread across her face. Sure, they couldn't use them, but they could certainly prevent the enemy from using it to. If those items were in their hands and locked away, then their enemy wouldn't get anymore stronger than they already were.

Icy was proud of herself. She would be killing two birds with one stone! If they couldn't become stronger, then neither would their enemy. However, the temptation to use that power was still on the back of her mind.

She sat quietly in her chair in thought. She refused to become a partner to one of the humans, and she knew that the other pokémon here would agree. So, what if they used this power on another human turned pokémon? Would it still have the same effects?

_There's only one way to find out,_ she thought, getting off of her chair and leaving the room. _The Master probably has the answers. And if this theory of mine works, then we could use those powers against the enemy! _

It only took her a few minutes to reach the giant room in which her master resided in. She bowed before the giant, shadowed figure and greeted him. "Good morning, Master. I trust you slept well?"

"Indeed I have, but it is highly unusual for you to visit me so early. Is there something you forgot to mention in last nights report?"

She nodded, keeping her head bowed. "I was fatigued, Master, so I kept this bit of information to myself until I was fully rested. I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to take a moment to review all the information I had and see if it had any beneficial effects for our cause."

"And what have you come up with?" 

"Theories, sir, but if they are proven correct then it would add a tremendous boost to our power. As I had stated in my last report, I followed Team Cosmic to the deepest part of Greenfall Forest. They met with a pokémon by the name of Zoroark."

He chuckled, causing her to perk her ears up curiously. "Sir?"

"It's nothing, continue."

She frowned inwardly, feeling as if he wasn't telling her something. Clearing her throat, she continued on with her report. "The newest member of their team found a book which spoke of a power that enables a pokémon to temporarily grow further past their final form. Zoroark said it was process called 'Mega Evolution,' and that it's an old power dating back when humans inhabited our world."

"Ahh, the Mega Evolution. I haven't heard that in centuries." He said slowly.

She dared to raise her head. "Master? Would you happen to have any more information regarding this process?"

"Well, that depends on what you heard."

"He told them that it requires four things; two of which are items, and the remaining factors are bonds of trust between the human and their pokémon partner. He didn't say, or rather didn't know, where the items for such a thing could be found. He also wasn't quite sure if the process would still work considering the human has been turned into a pokémon."

The room grew silent. Icy felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as each fleeting moment was met with silence. She didn't like when he became silent. It usually meant he was displeased. She frantically reviewed everything she had heard to make sure she hadn't missed any vital information, but when she found none, her panic only grew.

She had no reason to panic though. He answered moments later, "It's indeed a very old process. I vaguely remember it myself. However, it should still work. After all, this human disguising herself as a pokémon was originally born a human. Either way, where are you going with this idea?"

"To use it to our advantage, sir," she spoke, lifting her head to gaze at him.

She regretted it immediately. Seeing his piercing red eyes was enough to scare her to the core. But she remained firm in her stance as she spoke with boldness and pride, "I want to find this power and use it to add to our cause. With that extra power added to our army, we will become unstoppable! Not even that human turned pokémon will be able to stand in your way. If it can work on another human turned pokémon, then it is certainly something we should try to obtain. If not, then it's still something we can lock away to prevent our foe from gaining anymore power."

The shadowed pokémon chuckled. The unfaltering gaze of his prized servant amused him. For the briefest of moments, he felt pride. Icy had proven herself time and time again, and her research was always on spot. He could tell she had thought over this theory.

Icy lowered her head once more, closing her eyes, "Sir, shall I search for this power? To obtain and use, or to obtain and not use, it'll still help us in the end."

"Yes," he said, "search for it. Find it and secure it. Test it among your subjects, my loyal servant. If what you said works, and it works on human turned pokémon as well, then you have helped this army grow considerably. You have my permission."

Upon hearing those words, she beamed happily. Nodding, she jumped to her feet and made her way to the doors. Before she left, she turned, bowed, and thanked him.

As she walked back to her room, she couldn't help the grin on her face from growing. It was small and subtle, but she noticed that he had praised her. To be praised by the Master was honorable, and it left her with a warm feeling of fulfillment.

She knew that the research would be hard and extensive, but it would be worth it in the end.

-x-x-x-x-

Annabelle paced feverishly in her cell.

She thought over Icy's revealed plan. Icy must've felt confident in her plan to have revealed it so soon, and that only added to Annabelle's worries.

For the majority of her time, she looked for flaws and mistakes. Thankfully, she found some, but executing it was the difficult part. Despite how confident Icy appeared to be in her plan, it seemed her faith could be easily shattered.

It was exactly what Annabelle was hoping to do: shatter Icy's faith and convince her that human turned pokémon weren't evil. But she found it increasingly hard with how limited her time was. And it made it even harder when she hardly ever saw the dark/ice-type walking through the dungeons.

Her mind traveled to Nyla and her condition. She frowned when she noticed that Nyla was still unchanged.

Ever since her conversion, the normal-type pokémon remained in her cell quietly. Her face was blank and devoid of emotion as she stared off into the darkness of her cell. She was like a puppet, waiting for her puppeteer to command her.

It was unsettling to the leafeon who had grown so used to the delcatty's constant complaints about how dirty the place was.

She began to wonder what would happen if she were to be changed. Would she be like Nyla, discolored and emotionless, waiting to be called into a fight in which she fought on the wrong side? Would she be forced to fight her dearest friends?

The thought pained her. She didn't want to force her friends to fight her. It would break their hearts. They would fight, but not with all their power. They would probably beg for her to snap out of her haze. All the while, she would remain unmoved like a robot and fight.

She thought of Vivian and felt her own heart shatter. Her ears drooped sadly as memories of better times consumed her.

Instead of halting her, though, her desperation grew. She believed in her friends. They would find her before that even happened. And while she waited, she would fend off against the threat as long as she could.

Her resolve only grew as she watched a pair of pokémon pull away another human turned pokémon.

_They'll find us,_ she thought as she rested in a corner of the cell. _We will not be defeated so easily._

-x-x-x-x-

Celine shot up in her bed, panting for air. She examined the room, making sure that it wasn't just some illusion. After pinching herself and verifying that she was awake, she released a sigh and collapsed back into her bed.

Her hands rested over her eyes as the screams of pokémon echoed in her ear. She remembered seeing an army of discolored pokémon as they stalked towards her and her team. Behind the army was a pair of crimson colored eyes, and an evil laughter echoed all around. If she remembered correctly, they were the same pair of eyes she had seen before in her dreams. The army of discolored pokémon was screaming in agony, begging for help. It was almost too much for her to handle.

And then, just like that, it all vanished and was replaced with another scene.

In this scene, she watched as Vivian and her team approached the rocky cliffs of Rocky Meadows, all wary and cautious of their surroundings. Suddenly, a group of pokémon attacked them, knocking out the team and carrying away an unconscious Vivian.

Celine thought back to her earlier dreams. She couldn't distinguish what was a nightmare or a possible future. She chuckled weakly. _I can't foretell the future. I'm not a psychic type. But… how did I see the danger last time?_

She clutched her head in her hands. A headache was beginning to form. "It's probably best I don't dwell on it… the answers will come soon enough."

She left for the kitchen. Lizette was sitting at the table, happily munching away on a berry.

Noticing the drowsy fire-type, she greeted her warmly. Celine smiled. "Good morning. Sleep well?"

Lizette finished the berry before replying. "Of course! It's probably the best sleep I've had in a while! If fighting makes me that tired, then I should get over that fear real soon."

Celine laughed. "I'm glad to see you're in high spirits!"

"Do you guys always feel that tired after a fight?" Lizette asked with a tilt of her head.

Celine shook her head. "No, but that's probably because we're used to it by now."

Lizette immediately scowled the moment Aiden and Jaxon entered the kitchen. She kept her eyes locked on the raichu. Seeing this from the corner of his eyes, he chuckled and took a seat next to Celine. "Don't worry, fluffy, I won't be messing with you today!"

"Fluffy?!" she growled. "Who are you calling fluffy you oversized rat!"

A pained expression appeared on his face. "Hey! That's not nice at all!"

She snorted and looked away, angrily flickering her tails. He grinned a moment later. "Oh, I get it. You enjoyed our little game!"

Her ears immediately went up and she hissed at him. "Stay away from me you… you…"

"Now, now!" Celine laughed. "Settle down before you two hurt each other! By the way, Jaxon, where is Kalista?"

The raichu grabbed a berry from the proffered bowl Aiden had set in the center of the table. "She left earlier this morning. She went to see if there were any updates from headquarters. We're hoping that there is so that we have a lead to go on. She'll be back soon!"

Celine nodded, her uneasiness growing once more. She looked down at her hands and started twiddling with her thumbs. What was causing this sudden uneasiness? Nothing seemed to be out of order. Yet, no matter how many times she tried convincing herself of this, she couldn't ignore the gnawing feeling that something was _wrong._

Aiden noticed this. "Celine, what's wrong?"

She shot her head up quickly, as if caught off guard. She opened her mouth, but quickly closed it. She wanted to tell them that it was nothing, but she knew that Aiden wouldn't take that for an answer. With a sigh, she decided she would tell them.

"I had a new nightmare."

This caused the fighting-type to sit up straighter with a slightly alarmed look on his face. "It was sort of like the one I had before – you know, about the red eyes and the cries for help? Only this time, it was more detailed. I saw an army of discolored pokémon. All of them looked so…emotionless, but I could hear their cries of agony as clear as day. And I'm not sure if this means anything, but I saw a few pokémon in front of the army that seemed to stand out in comparison to the others; a delcatty, ninetales, and a meowstic," she said.

"Who I could not tell the gender of," she quickly added, noticing Aiden's narrowed gaze.

Jaxon nearly choked on the berry he had been munching on. He quickly covered it up with a cough. "Swallowed it the wrong way," he said, smiling at the trio's confused stares. Lizette raised her eyebrow, obviously not buying it.

"Do you think the dreams are a promotion?" Aiden asked.

"They could, but at the same time they probably aren't. I'd understand if Celine was a psychic pokémon, but she's not. She's just a fire-type," Lizette countered, folding her arms in front of her chest with a thoughtful expression.

"Yeah, but she's no ordinary pokémon either. She's a human, or was."

Lizette frowned and tilted her head to the side with her eyes closed. "If that's the case, then it is quite possible… Celine, didn't you say that you knew about the danger that you and Aiden would face in one of the situations not so long ago?"

Celine nodded. "Yeah. I heard screaming, but I never saw the actual event."

Lizette rubbed her chin. She was trying to see if there was a connection between the dreams and reality. The idea sounded outrageous for a non-psychic-type to see the future. But as outrageous as it sounded, she could make a few connections. Of course, they were only theories.

"I have some notion," Lizette said finally, "but they might not be correct. It could be another ability she obtained during her transformation from human into pokémon. They could actually be telling her the events of the futures, or just events linked to the purpose in which brought her here."

Everyone seemed to agree with her.

Suddenly, Kalista burst into the room. Lizette, Celine, and Aiden were all startled, but Jaxon seemed to be unfazed. He just looked at her. "What's the rush?"

"I have some bad news," she said, heaving, "a note was sent to the headquarters informing them of a seriously injured team near Rocky Meadows!"

Lizette stood up on her chair. "Wait, that's where Team PokéStars went!"

Celine felt her uneasiness grow again. She looked visibly sick. _Ambush? Rocky Meadows? Oh no…_ Aiden saw the sudden paleness of her face from the corner of his eyes, but made no move to question her.

"We need to investigate," Celine said immediately. Aiden nodded in agreement. "Lizette, will you be staying here or coming with us?"

"I'm coming of course! Do you honestly believe I'm going to sit here while my comrades go rushing off into a potentially dangerous situation?" she asked, her eyes slightly narrowing.

"We're coming too," Kalista spoke up. "Safety in numbers – especially if it is our group of friends who have been wiped out."

"Then let's get going," Celine said as she left the kitchen. "Kalista, rush back and tell them that Team Cosmic and Team Echo Hearts will investigate the matter. Lizette, go with her in case they need confirmation from someone on our team. Everyone else, gather your things and lets get going."

And with that, they all prepared themselves an unsettling trip to Rocky Meadows.

-x-x-x-x-

The trip to Rocky Meadows was far, but the dungeon itself was easy. In fact, it was _too_ easy. Celine didn't like it. She couldn't tell if it was because their team was larger, or if there was something more sinister hiding amongst the shadows of the area. Either way, it didn't settle well with her stomach.

With each step they took, Celine felt her panic grow. Fear was gripping at the corners of her mind. _Did I see Vivian and her friends get wiped out in my dreams?_ she thought, _Why wasn't I more cautious? I should've left quicker to investigate!_

Aiden rested a paw on her shoulder, startling the girl out of her thoughts. She looked towards him nervously. In response, his frown deepened.

Her face fell knowing that he wanted to talk. He could sense something was wrong, and it was likely he'd noticed her strange reactions since earlier that morning. Their pace slowed, allowing the others to walk further ahead.

"Celine, there's something you didn't tell us, isn't there?" he asked.

She nodded regretfully. She was fighting back the tears. "I…I…think I saw Vivian and the others get wiped out in my dreams last night… I didn't think too much of it. I thought that it might've been just another nightmare - a trick on my mind. But ever since I woke up, I've felt this knot in my stomach. If I had witnessed the fall of their team, then I've failed as a friend. If it is them, then I should have insisted we left sooner!"

Her sobs captured the attention of the rest of the group. But Aiden's gaze told them that he would handle it. He wrapped an arm around her, holding her close as they walked. "If you saw this during your dreams, then chances are that it has already happened. That's not within your control."

"But…"

"Celine, it's not your fault. Nobody would blame you if it turns out to be them. Yes, you might've seen their downfall, but what could you have done? It was an event that already occurred."

She whimpered and nuzzled her face against his shoulder. "Even so, I'll still feel guilty."

"You have no reason to be guilty," Aiden said.

She looked at him with despair in her eyes. She _wanted_ to believe him so much, but she couldn't find it in her heart. She had elected to brush it off as just a common nightmare. She wouldn't have bothered to give it a second thought until days passed and there were no signs of the team.

With that thought in mind, how could she call herself a friend? Had it not been for Kalista, Grovyle and Silver would've been left out there to die.

"I see someone!" Lizette called.

Celine lifted her head. _The moment of truth, _she thought.

She grabbed Aiden's hand and squeezed it. She was afraid of what she was about to see. He squeezed back, wordlessly telling her everything would be all right.

Then, she heard the words she did not want to hear, "I-it's… Silver! Grovyle!"

She watched as Kalista, Jaxon, and Lizette ran over to the unconscious forms of Team PokéStars. When Aiden and her got closer, she had noticed that Vivian was not among the unconscious bodies.

This caused her heart to stop with fear. Releasing her grip on Aiden's hand, she ran around the area searching for any clues of Vivian's whereabouts.

Jaxon noticed this. "What's she doing?" he asked Aiden.

"She saw this as a part of her nightmare last night," Aiden said, instantly making the others look at her. "She saw them as they got ambushed in her dreams, and watched as the enemy dragged away Vivian. She told me that she thought of it as just a common nightmare, but it would appear that's not the case."

"V…Viv…Vivi…" Silver groaned, stirring from his unconscious. Lizette immediately stopped him when he attempted to get to his feet.

"N-no, Silver, stop! Your badly injured, you need to stay still!" she urged.

"Liz…Lizette…?" he questioned, turning his head slowly in her direction.

She covered her mouth in pure shock when she noticed the gashing scar over his left eye. It was still shut, but his right eye was slowly opening.

"Oh my god…" Kalista whispered.

Lizette bit her lip and placed her paws on Silver's shoulders. "Yes, it's me Silver; don't talk, don't move. We're here to help. Kalista, do you think you can carry him?"

Kalista nodded. "Provided you can help him get on my back."

"I'll help with that," Aiden said, going to their aid.

Jaxon watched wordlessly. His gaze shifted to the unconscious form of Grovyle, then back to the frantically searching form of Celine. He felt his heart drop.

_So,_ he thought, _she predicted this would happen. Then that means… the dream she had…Oh Nyla…_

-x-x-x-x-

It was difficult, but Team Cosmic and Team Echo Hearts managed to bring back the two badly injured pokémon.

Silver would dip in and out of conscious. Grovyle, on the other hand, stirred halfway back and remained awake since. Lizette and Aiden kept a constant eye on the two and made sure neither fell nor obtained further injury.

Jaxon would watch Celine for the rest of the trip. She mopped and kept her gaze downcast the entire walk home. She didn't say anything to the rest of the team. It was because she was not feeling well that Jaxon had not approached her. He desperately wanted more information regarding her dream with the delcatty, but he knew that she was in no condition to be asked.

Celine was partially grateful that nobody attempted to strike up a conversation with her. Nobody knew that she fought the urge to cry and run away. She was ashamed, and felt like she had failed her two friends.

Each time she stole a glance of the two injured pokémon, her heart would twist. It reinforced her urge to cry, or to run away, but she knew she couldn't. She was vaguely aware that despite his watch on the injured pokémon, Aiden kept an eye on her as well. But she knew, without a doubt, that he had told the others: she had seen Team PokéStars downfall.

She stood outside their base, watching as everyone worked to get Grovyle and Silver inside safely. Aiden would occasionally run outside and out the back, then run back inside with an armful of berries.

Deciding it would be best not to get in their way, she rested beneath a tree. The guilt was gnawing at her, causing her to fall deep into depression.

She thought about turning herself over to the enemy. She believed that her friends would be spared the agony and pain. Part of her attempted reasoning against this, saying that it would only make matters worse.

But she was still stuck to the idea that her friends' misery was because of her. She hated seeing them suffer because of her and wanted nothing more than to put an end to it.

_You know that they wouldn't accept that deal, _her reasonable side said. _They'd lie to you – tell you that they would be spared when in truth they would be the first to suffer the enemies wrath!_

_But if I don't do something, they'll just continue to get hurt because of me,_ her depression countered.

She'd been so lost in her inner turmoil that she hadn't noticed when Aiden tried speaking to her. Waving a hand in front of her face, he earned her attention. The look he got, however, made his heart sank.

She looked at him with nothing but hopelessness and pain. She gave him a pitiful smile. "I have a plan," she said.

"And what's that?" he asked, sitting beside her. She lifted her gaze to stare at the sky.

"I'm going to turn myself in."

Aiden froze, not believing the words he just heard. "If I do, you guys will be spared. No more harm."

"I _won't_ let you do that." He said, grabbing one of her hands tightly

She looked down at their adjoined hands, then back at him. "I don't know where this foolish thought of yours came from, but turning yourself in will only make things worse."

"How?!" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows in distress. "How could it cause more damage?"

"Because they'd have the final threat against them gone," he said. "Without you, other pokémon would suffer at their hands. You're the only one who can challenge this enemy and _win_."

He lifted a paw to her cheek and stroked it gently. "If you're thinking that you'd be sparing us, you're wrong. You should know by now that I would fight a thousand enemies just to get you back. I'd fight until I die. The others care for you too. It's not just because you're our hero, but also because you're an irreplaceable friend. We'd all risk our lives to save you. Also, I know that you care for this world, and I know that it's just the depression talking."

Neither said anything for a while. Celine looked into his eyes; she was letting the reality of his words sink in. He looked back at her with nothing but love and compassion, reassuring her that he wasn't lying.

Finally, she caved in and began sobbing. She pressed herself against him, letting out all the emotions she'd been keeping in since that morning. Aiden only smiled, closed his eyes, and held her close.

"That's right," he whispered, encouraging her, "just cry it all out."

The two of them sat there for what seemed like an hour. She cried for about a half an hour, then subsided into short hiccups, and finally, stopped her crying all together. Her face was nuzzled against his chest.

Hearing him chuckle, her ears perked up. "You're such a weirdo."

"Huh…?" she asked, looking at him in confusion.

"Where did you get such crazy thoughts? I've never seen anyone get _that_ worked up. You sure you're not just some overly sensitive girl?"

A blush crept onto her face. She looked away, pouting. "I'm sorry for caring so much…"

"No, that's a great quality in you," he reassured, "That's what I adore about you, but what I don't understand is where you got those thoughts."

"It's… I…" she frowned. "I feel so guilty."

He sighed, shaking his head. "All right, fine. Think of it this way then: you didn't predict the future."

"What do you mean I didn't?" she asked, baffled. "Judging by what we found today, I think we can say I did!"

"This happened yesterday," he said. "We were in Greenfall Forest the entire day. Unless you had the vision the night before, you really didn't predict it. You just saw the conclusion."

She looked even more confused. "Then… what was the point of showing me that vision?"

He shrugged. "Maybe it was due to your strong devotion to protect your friends. Even if they aren't apart of the team, they're still good friends. To you, they're just as important as the mission you have in this world."

"To put it simply," he began, seeing that she was still confused, "I believe your visions are based on things that are directly related to your mission. An example would be the situation we went through that earned us our evolution."

Slowly, the pieces began coming together. Finally, it hit her. Everything she saw were things that were meant to become key figures in her final battle!

Aiden smiled. "Did you make the connections?"

"Yes, but…how…how did you figure that out?" she whispered in admiration.

He chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "A hunch."

She scowled and gently punched him. "You based all of that off of a _hunch_?"

"Yep!" He gave her a toothy grin. She attempted to glare at him, but couldn't stop the smile from spreading on her face. She embraced him once more.

"I hate you."

"Love you too."

She paused. He may have not meant it literally, but his words warmed up her heart. The thought made her smile pleasantly.

"Honestly," he said, grinning mischievously at her, "What in the world would you do without me?"

"I don't know." She blushed, smiling at him.

Celine found herself lost in Aiden's eyes, and was vaguely aware of the growing warmth building up in her heart. She recognized it as love immediately. But that didn't seem to matter as all her senses began to fade away. She closed her eyes and leaned towards him.

The action surprised Aiden at first. He wasn't sure of how to react, obviously knowing how much things would change after they kissed. But part of him didn't seem to care. He was living in the moment, embracing this tender moment with Celine. Following his own heart, he closed his eyes and began to lean towards her.

Suddenly, it started pouring, catching the two off guard. A second later there was a shrill scream echoing from the base. "AIDEN! CELINE!"

The sudden appearance of rain and the shrill scream startled the two of their haze. Celine, realizing how close they were, immediately turned bright red. She quickly got to her feet and looked away. The rain didn't seem to bother her as much as the current situation had.

Aiden was also blushing, but grinned. Part of him was peeved that the sudden change in weather and the scream ruined their special moment. He shook his head and got to his feet. "Shall we check on them and see what the problem is?"

All she could do was nod.

-x-x-x-x-

_\- Before Aiden left to check on Celine -_

Lizette and Jaxon were running around the house, gathering first-aid kits. Kalista and Aiden helped the injured pokémon into the guest rooms.

Lizette was beyond horrified. She'd never seen wounds as grave as the two pokémon bore.

_Someone attacked them with the intent to make them suffer,_ she concluded. _But who? Could it have been those barbarians, Team Poisonix, or someone else?_

"Liz, did you find the other first-aid kit?" Jaxon called, snapping her out of her train of thoughts.

"Yeah!" she yelled back, rushing back into the room. _Food for thought, though. Maybe I should bring this up next time I talk to Aiden and Celine._

She spread the two first-aid kits out and opened them. She swiftly gathered antibiotics, creams, and bandages. She passed him half of the medical supplies while she kept the other half. He worked on treating Silver's wounds and she worked on Grovyle's.

Gratefully, Silver was out cold, so he didn't feel any sort of pain. Grovyle, on the other hand, constantly twitched and hissed whenever Lizette touched his wounds.

She glared at him. "Stop moving!"

"I can't help it! It hurts!"

"If you don't stop moving I'll never get these wounds treated! Unless you want them to go untreated and get infected and hurt even more." She eyed him as he grunted. He held out his arm, biting his lip as she continued to treat his wounds.

Kalista was sitting off to the side with a worried look. "Grovyle, do you remember what happened?"

"Vaguely," he answered. "It happened so fast. By the way, where are Celine and Vivian?"

Jaxon and Kalista exchanged looks. Aiden, who had been leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, sighed and answered. "Celine is outside, however… Vivian… was captured."

Grovyle's eyes went wide. "Vivian? Captured? But… she's…"

"I have a bad feeling," Lizette murmured. "I think Team Poisonix was behind this. And since we know they're working with the enemy, Vivian might be used-"

"Lizette!" Aiden scolded, immediately silencing the meowstic. Grovyle went silent himself, staring off into space.

Aiden sighed. "I'm going to check up with Celine." He waved his hand in the air dismissively before leaving the room.

When he was gone, Lizette spoke again. "I'm sorry, Grovyle. That probably didn't help, huh?"

"It's fine," he said. "Vivian, even captured, is still a force to be reckoned with. She'll be able to free herself."

"It's still unsettling though," Kalista said. "I can't believe Celine saw it…"

Grovyle perked his head up in interest. "Saw what?"

"Aiden told us that Celine told him that she watched someone attack you guys in a nightmare. They ambushed you and kidnapped Vivian. I don't think she knows who the attackers are though. She seemed pretty shaken up about it."

"That's not the only alarming thing she saw…" Jaxon trailed off. Kalista stared in his direction.

"Nyla…?"

"I don't know." He shut his eyes. "She said she saw a delcatty, a ninetales, and a meowstic in her most recent dream."

"Ninetales?!" Kalista gasped. "Do you think it could be…?"

Jaxon shrugged. "I don't know. She said she saw an army of discolored pokémon, all of whom were emotionless. But she said she heard their cries, so it might be possible that our friends are being corrupted and forced to fight us."

Kalista's ears flattened against her head. _Oh Jaxon…_ She thought bitterly, watching as he sat there sadly. She walked over to him and rubbed her face against his. "Cheer up. Nyla wouldn't want you to be sad."

"But… Kalista… I've been with her for so long. We've been through so much… To know she's being hurt… tortured…" he jammed his eyes shut and prevented himself from speaking anymore. Kalista wrapped one of her giant paws over him and brought him into a hug.

Grovyle watched the scene. He remembered he had gone through something similar to them. He lowered his head, his mind traveling to Annabelle. He thought about when she was a human, their journey, her warm and gentle smile, and her never-ending supply of energy. It was something he always thought about during their separation. It was the only thing that pushed him onward during his mission.

Lizette noticed his frown. Finishing up the wounds, she started gathering the dirty supplies to throw them away. "Thinking about your friends?"

"We'd gone through something similar to them. Or, at the very least, I have." Jaxon flicked his ear in Grovyle's direction. "It's not easy not knowing how your partner is and whether or not they're safe and sound. When I first lost Annabelle, I constantly worried. I thought about giving up my mission to find her, but I knew that wasn't what she wanted. So, I pushed myself forward. It wasn't easy, but in the end we found each other again."

"You were known as a thief," Lizette said matter-of-factly.

Grovyle chuckled. "Yeah. Everyone thought I was trying to destroy the world when I was just trying to save it. That was both of our missions – Anna's and mine."

Lizette paused, thinking back to what he mentioned before. "You said you met her as a human?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"Does that mean the humans return to our world?"

"No, she was the only one in the future. If I remember correctly, she just appeared out of nowhere. She was near my home, wandering aimlessly and without a clue as to her whereabouts. We met, bonded, and resolved together to save our dying world. We were very close until that accident." Grovyle examined his wounds.

Jaxon spoke up quietly, looking over to grovyle, "You were able to cope when you lost her? How?"

Grovyle chuckled again, a fond smile on his face. "As petty as it may sound, I just needed to remember her smiling face and our promise. We promised that no matter what happened to the other, the surviving member would continue with our mission. I knew she would be upset if I broke that promise, so… I used it as a reinforcement."

"That sounds like Nyla!" Kalista laughed. "Always so stern about those promises!"

Jaxon grinned weakly. "Yeah…"

Happy to see that Jaxon was beginning to cheer up, Lizette smiled. As she left the room she decided she would leave the trio to joke of fond old memories.

She found herself thinking about the closeness between the human turned pokémon and their first partner. She wondered what it felt like to have such a tight bond. Her heart twisted in mild pain and interest when she thought of whether or not it was normal for the two partners to become romantically involved.

She thought of her two teammates, Aiden and Celine. She could already see that love was beginning to bloom between the pair, and she couldn't deny the jealousy she felt in her heart. She had grown up with Aiden and thought that they were inseparable. It hurt her to know that he had moved on and fell in love with someone else.

She shook her head. She wouldn't give into that jealously again. All she could do was be a good friend and support him when needed.

Her ears flicked in the direction of the living when she heard a thump. Hearing Jaxon call out Kalista's name, she grew anxious. She ran back into the room and instantly froze.

Kalista lay on the floor unconscious. Jaxon was hovering over her, shaking her and urging her to open her eyes.

"What happened?" Lizette asked, running over.

"I…I don't know!" Jaxon cried. "She just said that she suddenly felt tired and the next thing I know, she falls right over!"

Lizette checked the arcanine's pulse and let out a sigh of relief. "Well, she's not _dead._ But she is asleep. Was she exhausted from the days work?"

He shook his crestfallen face.

She felt her heart drop as the realization sank in. She lowered her head, watching Jaxon shake his partner desperately through her banes.

Then, as she shot her head up, she screamed, "AIDEN! CELINE!"


	9. Stress for the Tendered Heart

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 8: Stress for the Tendered Heart

Aiden and Celine were in the room within minutes. Lizette, once seeing them, jumped to her feet and rushed over. "We have a problem! … Wait, why are you two soaking wet?"

"It started pouring suddenly," Aiden said, walking over to the unconscious form of Kalista. "We got soaked on the way back in. Now, what's the problem?"

After pointing Celine in the direction of their bathroom, she walked over. "It's the sleeping curse. Kalista is one of its newest victims."

"The sleeping curse?" Jaxon inquired, his face falling immediately. "Oh no! No no no!" he cried as he buried his face in Kalista's fur. "Not her too! Please! Don't take Kalista away from me too!"

"How do you figure it's the sleeping curse?" Grovyle asked.

"She isn't waking when we shake her," she answered matter-of-factly, "Any normal pokémon would have woken up by now – especially with all the commotion."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "For all you know she could have just collapsed due to exhaustion."

She shook her head.

"No, I'm positive that it's the sleeping curse because of another reason. The weather," she pointed to Aiden for emphasis, "suddenly changed when she fell victim. Based on the rumors I've been hearing, whenever a pokémon falls victim to the sleeping curse, the weather around that area suddenly changes. I thought that it was absurd at first, but now I see it isn't."

"Maybe it was cloudy before we came in," he said, obviously not believing in Lizette's story. "I've never heard of a case where a pokémon falls into a deep sleep and the weather suddenly changes at the same time."

Lizette folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. "There have been countless cases where a pokémon has fallen under the curse and the weather changed at the same time."

Grovyle snorted. "And what kind of pokémon could change the weather _and_ cause a pokémon to fall into a deep sleep at the same time? I can think of none."

"That probably because it's not just a lone pokémon! There might two!" she argued.

"Instead of spectating how or why the weather suddenly changes the minute a pokémon falls victim, help me figure out how we can break the curse!" Jaxon yelled, his ears flattening against his skull.

"I agree," Celine said quietly as she entered the room.

She handed Aiden his towel, but kept her gaze lowered and prevented herself from staring at the two injured pokémon in the room. "We can figure out that stuff later. For now, we should focus on breaking the curse and releasing those affected by it."

"But you have other things to worry about," Aiden said.

"And I'll get to those." She looked over at him. "I know that I'm here to stop a pokémon from destroying your world, but I also might be here to stop these curses and break free the pokémon under this curse."

"Then you have quite the feat on your shoulders," Grovyle commented, gaining her attention. "You'd be responsible for figuring out why there have been natural disasters happening more frequently, what causes the sleeping curse and how to break it, and freeing the pokémon under this major threat your up against. Do you honestly believe you can shoulder all of that on your own?"

She didn't answer. He continued. "It took a single human turned pokémon to figure out why natural disasters were happening a while ago, or so I hear. It took another human turned pokémon to fight against the ideals of a dark future. There have been hundreds of human turned pokémon being called to this world to solve a dangerous and life-threatening situation, but they only faced against one major threat. You're facing against three major epidemics. I hardly doubt you're the only human turned pokémon called here to solve these cases."

"Are you suggesting that there is two other human turned pokémon out there?" Lizette asked.

Grovyle nodded his head. "I asked Vivian about it. She told me that every pokémon that went missing had previously claimed that they were once a human. Meaning they had come here to solve a problem that threatened our world and decided to stay when they completed that mission. We have knowledge that there are three major fronts to this – the dark army, the sleeping curse, and the natural disasters. The only logical theory I can come up is that there are at least two other human turned pokémon in this world; if they're like Celine, they believe it's their task to deal with all three fronts at the same time, when in fact, they're just being called here to only deal with one issue. Or they're meant to join forces together and deal with this threat as a team."

He turned to Jaxon. "How did you and your team solve the issue with the natural disasters?"

"Well, there was meteor coming our way and it was upsetting the balance of the world. Nyla and I had ascended to the sky tower to speak and request help from the legendary pokémon Rayquaza," he said. "Why?"

"Because I don't know if it was meant for you guys to solve this problem again," he said, rubbing his chin in wonder. "I'm not sure if you were meant to come here, team up with Celine and her team, and deal with the natural disasters all over again. Or, if you're meant to guide another human turned pokémon who is tasked to doing what you did. Unless the circumstances that caused the natural disasters are different this time and it's something totally different from what you had to do."

Seeing that he was trailing a little off topic, he shook his head. "Anyway, the point to all of this is simple: we need to divide into groups. One group would look to see if there have been any new notices of new pokémon living in town, or around the area. Another group would be responsible for taking care of Kalista. And finally, the third group will look into the dark army and the disappearances. Does everyone agree with this?"

Everyone looked at each other. When there were no complaints, Grovyle spoke again. "Once Silver and I recover, we can look and see if there have been any new arrivals in town. Jaxon, since Kalista is your teammate, you can stay here and take care of her. Celine, due to your dreams being connected to the appearance of this 'dark army,' I think it's best you and your team investigate the matter. Look into the disappearances and discover any clues that others may have missed."

"That's… actually a very good idea." Lizette nodded in approval. "It takes off some stress for Celine. Speaking of which, are you feeling better?"

Celine nodded slowly, but she still looked upset. Grovyle sighed. "Celine? I overheard Kalista and the others talking. You saw us as we were attacked, didn't you?"

Celine froze in her spot. She was waiting for him to scold her, to yell at her, to tell her that this was all her fault. But instead, she received something different. "I don't blame you. In fact, I thank you. You couldn't have done anything for us. But you did save us from dying out there. So please, don't blame yourself. We will find Vivian."

She stared at him for a while. Finally, she smiled and nodded.

-x-x-x-x-

Icy leaned her head in the palm of her hand as she flipped through her research. Fortunately she had come across some legends concerning the stones. But unfortunately that's all they were: legends. She sighed and closed her eyes. Just where could she find more information?

She didn't even bother to move when she heard a knock at her door. It opened a minute later and she heard the familiar voice of the leader of Team Poisonix. "We've completed the task you asked us to do."

"Perfect," she said, a sly smile appearing on her face. "I do hope you didn't harm her _too_ much. After all, a broken toy is no good."

"We restrained ourselves, but her colleagues on the other hand… well, unless they're found they're good as dead."

Icy opened her eyes and chuckled. "Where is she now?"

"We weren't sure if you wanted us to do this or not, but we've placed her in a fire-resistant cell not far from her leader." Gothitelle tilted her head slightly to the right. "And if I may ask, why did you request we just capture her? Why not the whole team?"

"Because," Icy said as she pushed her chair away from her desk and slid off the chair. "I'm going to conduct an experiment and I just need the ninetales. Plus, you did me a big favor by putting her in a cell not far from her dear friend. Torturing her in front of her friend would be delicious, but I have something far more pleasant for them. A sacrifice, if I may say."

She strolled towards Gothitelle. Her eyes were gleaming with sadistic delight as she re-called her plan.

"I've reconsidered the Dark Army. It won't be just human turned pokémon; it'll consist of some of the very partner's of those human turned pokémon. Furthermore, they play a key part in the research I have been doing. I need the partner and I need the leader. Annabelle and Vivian are perfect subjects for my experiment. All that is left to do is to… _enlighten_ them. Then, once I have obtained that of which I seek, we will have gained more power than our enemy could ever hope to obtain."

"That sounds… marvelous," Gothitelle said, still not understanding why she didn't ask to bring the whole team. "But… wouldn't it be more effective to use the whole team against Annabelle? You know, to torture her, to weaken her mind, and so on?"

Icy paused and tapped her chin. "That would be more effective, wouldn't it? Well, it's too late now. You and your team did an excellent job. I'm very pleased, and I'll be sure to inform the Master of your accomplishment. For now, however, I insist you and your team enjoy a short break. I will be dealing with our newest guest."

Gothitelle shivered inwardly as she watched the weavile leave the room. _There is something seriously wrong with that one,_ She thought with a frown. She shrugged and left the room, going down the opposite way that Icy was traveling down. She couldn't wait to tell her teammates that Icy was going to tell their newest boss of their accomplishment. And she was more than certain that they would be rewarded.

As she traveled back to her room, Icy traveled to the cells. She greeted the guards with a nod of her head and grinned when she heard the screams of Annabelle. "What have you fiends done to Vivian? Let her go! Let her go now, dammit! She has nothing to do with this!"

"Oh, but my dear, she has _everything_ to do with this," Icy replied, appearing in the leafeon's view.

Annabelle was snarling at her. This only made Icy's grin widen. "My, did I strike a nerve?"

Annabelle immediately crumbled. "Please, let her go! Don't hurt her, please!"

"I'm afraid that I cannot do that," Icy said, leaning against the stone wall.

She folded her arms in front of her chest. "I need her for some of the experiments I plan on conducting. Unless, you mind volunteering?"

Annabelle fell silent. Tears ran down her cheek as she stared at the ice/dark-type. Any hope that she once had was crumbling, and she felt her heart sinking with each passing second.

Icy laughed once more. "How about this? I'll leave you and your friend to discuss this? I'll be back in two hours time. You have better made up your mind by then. Toddles!" She waved good-bye and left the cells.

Annabelle collapsed, burying her face in her paws. Her ears flicked back and forth when she heard a groan. She lifted her head and watched as her best friend slowly came too. "Vivi!"

Her name being called snapped the ninetales out of her haze. She looked around, her eyes eventually settling on Annabelle as she rose to her feet and walked over to the bars. "Anna…? Is…is that…really you?"

She nodded, making the fox-like pokémon brighten. "Oh Anna! You're all right! I was so worried about you! Everyone is, in fact. I can't wait to tell the others that you're okay! But first," she looked around hesitantly, "where the heck are we?"

"I hate to inform you of this, but…Vivi…you've been captured."

The information had not sunk in right away. Vivian laughed it off, thinking that this wasn't real, but as she settled down she noticed the seriousness behind her friends frown. Vivian just stood there with her eyes growing wide with each passing second. She lowered her gaze. "Ha, and it's supposed to be me who is saving you, not get captured."

"Oh Vivi… How did you get captured? You're usually so cautious."

"I was out on a mission with Silver and Grovyle, and before you ask me, I will tell you about his return in a moment. Anyway, we were following a lead we got concerning the kidnappings. However, we were ambushed and… well, that's all I can remember. It was sudden and we never had the chance to react, or at least I never did. I just pray the other two are all right." She couldn't help the smile from forming on her lips when she saw Annabelle's shocked expression.

Tears were welling up in Annabelle's eyes as she registered the information. Her mind stopped processing the moment she heard his name. "Grovyle… is back?"

Vivian chuckled. "He is, and he misses you. As soon as he returned to our time and heard about your capture, he sought us out and joined the team. There hasn't been a moment he hasn't spent searching for you. He is such an idiot." She shook her head. "He loves you and he doesn't even know it."

"He…loves…me…?" Annabelle felt her heart stop. The tears were falling down her cheeks now.

Her friend nodded. "He says that he's just looking for you because he cares as a friend, but I can see through his façade. He's spent his nights with us reviewing every little detail he knew concerning your kidnapping. I'm not sure what kind of memories you two created before you met me, but they must have been wonderful because he's dedicated his time to finding you."

That finally did her in. Annabelle collapsed and sobbed her heart out. She wouldn't admit it aloud, but she did miss him dearly. His sacrifice and the words he left her with left her in tears. And ever since, she felt as if a part of her heart had been torn out.

Vivian frowned, her ears drooping. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"No," she said, wiping away her tears, "that's the best news I've heard in a long time. As warming as this is, how is the outside world? I'm going to assume that a lot has changed during my captivity."

Vivian nodded regretfully. "A lot has happened. The sleeping curse is still going strong. The kidnappings have slowed down; I assume that they have almost captured every pokémon that has claimed to be a human before. As for the natural disasters, they're increasing. The sleeping curse combined with the natural disasters has started to affect how pokémon view human turned pokémon. They're beginning to think that it is because of the human turned pokémon that the world is in such chaos."

Annabelle looked dismayed with the news. Seeing this, Vivian quickly added, "But not all hope is lost. A new human turned pokémon has descended from the human world."

She listened carefully as Vivian told her about the newly human turned pokémon, Celine. She would shake her head at certain parts of Vivian's story, remembering how she felt in a similar situation. She was glad to know that Celine had not been captured yet and had already formed her own team. But what really caught her off guard about the entire story was the mere fact that Celine was able to evolve.

Annabelle remembered that neither she nor her partner could evolve until the situation with Dakrai had been settled. When she thought of him, worry began to bubble up inside of her, "That reminds me, how is Darkrai doing?"

Vivian winced and looked away. This unsettled Annabelle who leaned forward in her cell. "What is it? What happened to Darkrai?"

"He…He's gone," Vivian said quietly. "We got word from Radia that he disappeared shortly after Silver and I had departed."

Annabelle's ears went back. "Do you think he could be responsible for the sleeping curse? I thought he changed!"

"That's what we all thought, but we haven't found any evidence linking him to the sleeping curses. I'm on the fence about it myself, to be honest. He did grow rather fond of you. You were the only one on the team who really gave him any chance and any kindness. Everybody else, including myself, shunned him because we were fearful he was just playing us for a fool," she said.

Annabelle chewed on her lip in silence, thinking about what he could be doing out in the world on his own.

Vivian continued, "This is merely an assumption, but he could've left the team to pursue clues on your whereabouts. We could be reading the situation wrong and wrongly accusing him. He probably didn't feel right with the team since… well, I feel horribly guilty for saying this, but we've had some of the team members keep eye on him before we departed and asked Radia to continue keeping an eye on him while we were gone. I'm sure that he could sense the hostility among us, and without you, probably didn't feel safe."

"He seemed…to have really changed after losing his memory," Annabelle began, praying that she wasn't wrong about him, "So despite my worries, I'm going to put my faith in him. I'm not mad at you guys either. I understand why you guys were hostile. It's not easy to accept someone who caused us so much suffering into the team. I just hope my intentions don't bring us more harm."

Vivian could only frown in worry. "If it's any consolation to you, I believe you made the right choice. It was just my error, among others, for not fully believing in your choices."

Her partner smiled at her thankfully. Her demeanor suddenly changed when the sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway. Vivian was confused by her longtime friends sudden change in attitude.

"Vivian, I need you to promise me something," Annabelle said urgently.

Vivian nodded her head slowly. "Promise me that you will find a way out of here and save the human turned pokémon. Or rather, keep the remaining one safe and free. Protect her and her team with all your strength. Do you hear me?"

"I do, but –"

"Vivian, please, just promise me!"

"Okay…I promise," she said.

Annabelle's eyes were watering up again as she nodded gratefully to her friend. She quickly wiped her tears away and kept a stoic face when Icy and Team Poisonix arrived.

Vivian, recognizing the trio, snarled. "You!"

"Why, hello, Vivian. I hope you're enjoying your cell!" Gothitelle chuckled.

Icy glared at her from the corner of her eyes, quickly silencing Gothitelle. She turned back to Annabelle with her hands resting behind her. A smirk was playing on her lips. "Have you made up your mind?"

"I have," she said, "And I decided that I will do it. But I don't want you laying a finger on my friend."

"Do what?" came Vivian's confused voice.

Annabelle looked away as Icy began laughing. "You never told her? Oh, how admirable!"

"Pay no mind to her words," Annabelle said, looking at her friend. A small smile was on her face, but Vivian could see the overwhelming sadness in her eyes. "Just stay strong for me, Vivi."

Icy flicked her wrist, obviously bored. Gothitelle and the rest of her team moved to open the cell door. "You so much as try to escape, human, and you will regret it."

Annabelle said nothing. She kept her head low as she left the confinement of her cell. She grunted when Banette kicked her forward. "Let's go," he ushered.

"Wait, where are you taking her?" Vivian demanded, watching as the group walked away without so much as a word. "Annabelle?"

She watched in growing horror as her friends form slowly disappeared. A sudden rush of adrenaline filled her and she began to attack the bars to her cell. She tried ramming them, scratching them, and even using her fire attacks to melt the bars. Nothing worked.

Vivian pressed herself against the bars and continued to watch as the group's forms disappeared into the darkness. Fear gripped her heart as she thought about what Icy had asked her moments before Team Poisonix escorted Annabelle out of her cell. What had she agreed to? Where were they taking her?

She was finding herself grow more agitated as she moved away from the bars of her cells and attempted ramming them again. She didn't care about the growing pain in her shoulder.

But as soon as she heard the sound of a door being slammed shut, she collapsed and screamed out for her partner. "ANNABELLE!"

-x-x-x-x-

Grovyle and Silver were sitting outside. They enjoyed the pleasantness of the weather and engaged in small talk. It was a nice distraction to their current predicament. Neither of them wanted to dwell on the incident that had caused them to lose their second-in-command.

Silver was telling Grovyle of all the changes that had occurred in their team during Grovyle's time away when Lizette approached with a bowl and glass of water. She smiled. "How are you two feeling?"

"My body aches still," Silver winced from his small attempt to move, "But they're nothing serious. I might have a few scars afterwards, but they're better than losing anything. Thank you."

Grovyle nodded in agreement. "I am doing well as well. How is Kalista?"

Lizette sighed at the mention of the arcanine's name. Grovyle got the hint and took the glass of water thankfully. "No changes, huh?"

"Jaxon hasn't left her side," Lizette said woefully. "In a manner of hours, we've gone through so much. We used to be so many, but now we're so few. It's depressing."

"It's depressing alright," Silver nodded with a disappointed look. "Though I must say I'm interested in this theory you've come up with Grovyle. Are you _really_ certain that there might be two other humans out there?"

He shrugged. "To be honest, I don't know. It's just a theory I came up with after my talk with Vivian. I'm leaning towards believing it might be true, though. I've noticed that only one human has been called down to fix a single problem in the past. And despite how strong Celine might become, I highly doubt she is capable enough to shoulder all that stress. It would only make sense that others were called down to assist her."

"Then where could they be? There hasn't been any noticeable differences in the population of this area," Silver said, eyeing Lizette who only nodded to confirm his statement.

Grovyle hadn't said anything for a while. He could come up with a ton of reasons why they hadn't noticed any changes. "They could be staying low so that they don't attract any unwanted attention. I have no doubt in my mind they've heard of the kidnapping's."

Lizette tapped her chin as she thought about it. It was definitely a sound theory. "Aiden and Celine think it's worth looking into. And since I know you don't want to feel like you're not doing anything for the team, Silver, this will be perfect!"

Silver snorted and lapped away at his water. Lizette and Grovyle chuckled. "Well," Lizette said as she dusted herself off, "I'm off!"

"Where are you going?" Grovyle questioned.

Lizette pointed to the town. "To the library. I want to check through their sections once more to make absolute certain that they don't have anything else about the Mega Evolution."

"Oh," he said. "Good luck."

She winked as she trotted away. "Thanks!"

-x-x-x-x-

It took a little longer than Lizette would have liked to get to the library. Some of her friends from around the well had pulled her over to talk. They were curious as to why she hadn't been there lately. That was when she presented her team badge and introduced herself as the newest member of Team Cosmic.

She had been a little disappointed when her friends asked who Team Cosmic was. But she didn't stay long to describe the team to them. She departed, telling them that she had some work to do and that she would get to them whenever she had the chance.

She had left a little disappointed that her friends hadn't heard of the team. But then again, they didn't necessarily pop out that much. Either way, she hadn't joined the team for the popularity.

Her disappointment had faded quickly as soon as she got into the library's oldest sections. She was now in full business mode. Everything around her was shut out as she browsed through the books. She made sure to take a few extra minutes to carefully inspect a book that caught her attention. With a nod, she would hold that book closely and continue through her browsing.

She would repeat these steps until she found herself carrying too many books. Then she would begin the short process of finding a nearby table, setting down her books, and returning to her browsing.

Off in the distance, a male meowstic watched her. His eyes were wide with shock as he watched her return to her table with a handful of books and, after setting them down, rush back into the older sections. He had counted at least three piles of books when she had finally finished.

Interested, he approached her. "What in the world are you studying?"

Startled, she turned to him. "Oh, just something that my friends asked me to do."

"What did they ask you to look for?" he asked as he took a seat beside her.

She didn't say anything at first. She didn't feel like it was a topic of major importance, but figured that if she told him, his curiosity would be satisfied and he would leave her alone. "I'm looking up an ancient process known as Mega Evolution. On my previous trip here I found a book talking about it."

"Mega Evolution?" he asked, rubbing his chin in thought. "I think I've heard of that before."

"You have?" she asked, both surprised, yet hopeful he knew something of interest.

He frowned and put his hands up. "Though I might've just read about it in the very same book that you've read it. I've read just about every book in the library." He flashed a prideful smile.

Her ears drooped. "You've read every book here?"

He nodded. "Why?"

"Because I was hoping that there was another book that would describe the process, where to find the items, and so forth…"

She sighed and put down the book she'd been holding. "But if there really isn't any other book here describing it, then I guess I'm just wasting my time."

He flinched. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to discourage you. I have read all the books here, but truth to be spoken I don't exactly remember everything that's been written. So, there actually might be another book speaking about it. Tell you what, how about I help you go through these books?"

"You wouldn't mind?" she asked, a little surprised of his offer.

"Nah. It's not like I have anything to do today. Since my team is busy off in the wilderness, I'm keeping an eye on things here."

"You have a team?" she asked, even more surprised. Suspicion started to creep in through her skin.

He nodded. "Yeah. We're fairly new. We started our team a couple of months ago. Why? Are you on a team too?"

Now it was her turn to nod. "Yes. I'm the informant for Team Cosmic. My name is Lizette. What is yours?"

She jumped when he clapped his hands excitedly. "Wow! You too, huh? I'm also the informant for my team! I'm also supposed to be the strategist for when we go out on missions, but they decided to give me the day off. And it's nice to meet you. My name is Aldous, and I'm from Team Invincible Hope, or just call us by our shorter name, Team Invincible."

He offered his hand out for a handshake. At first she just stared at him and then his hand, but eventually she mirrored his smile and took his hand.

"So, you're the team informant?" she asked, releasing her hold on his hand and turning back to her books. "Who is on your team?"

"Information for information," he chuckled, grabbing a book, "promise to tell me about your team after I tell you about mine?"

She eyed him from the corner of her eyes, but nodded nonetheless. "Of course."

"Alright, how do I begin?" he asked to nobody specifically, staring off into space. "As of right now we only have three members. Drexel is our leader and Fiona is the co-leader. Drexel isn't much for words and he is always so serious, but he does have good intentions. He tends to hide in the shadows a lot lately, though I have suspicions that his latest trip into town is behind that. You see, for some unfathomable reason, he attracts the ladies. I'm only guessing that the ladies swarmed him when he got into town. As for Fiona, she's a sweetheart. She's always helping someone, so I wasn't surprised when she told me she was making a team with this new friend of hers. I'm sure you'd like her. And you already know a little about me. So, how about your team?"

Lizette didn't answer right away. She was wary of him since her encounter with Team Poisonix had caused her to become more wary of those she trusts. But she didn't feel any malice from him, so she told him as little about her team as possible.

"We also currently have three members, including myself. Celine is our team leader, while my best friend, Aiden, acts as the co-leader. Though sometimes I wonder if he's the leader and she's the co-leader with how they act. The description you gave me for you friend Fiona just about describes my friend, Celine. She loves helping others, and she has a large heart that forgives easily. Aiden, well, he's addicted fighting or just plainly showing off," she said with a chuckle, "but he has a warm personality. If I were to start picking at his flaws, I'd say that he's quick to judge. We also have a few off-hand members, err, more like friends really. They're members of Team PokéStars and Team Echo Hearts."

"Your friends with Team PokéStars and Team Echo Hearts?!" he asked, flinching when other pokémon around them shushed him.

She blinked. "Yeah. Team PokéStars started helping us after Celine and Aiden stood up for one of the leaders of Team PokéStars during their search for their missing friend. Team Echo Hearts started helping around the time they first came here. Apparently, they were searching for Team PokéStars so that they could aid in their quest."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot," he said shamefully, "both of their leaders are human turned pokémon. I can see why they'd decide to work together. Only those who've had a leader, or really a friend, whose claimed to be a human before when know the pain and loss they've suffered."

"You seem to sympathize their situation," she noted. "Very few do. What makes you so different?"

She unknowingly caught him red handed. Since her attention had been focused on the book, she hadn't seen him visibly flinch. But he said nothing to either confirm or erase her slowly rising suspicions.

"I just don't think it's fair."

Lizette shifted her gaze to his. "I see."

"What are is your opinion on the matter?" He kept his ears perked. If she was going to become that interested, then he wanted to know why she seemed to show no hatred or malice towards the hybrid pokémon.

The question didn't seem to catch her off guard, much to his dismay. "Friends are friends. Who are we to judge who is evil and who is good? I think nothing bad of them because they've given us no reason to hate them; for each time they've appeared, they've saved us. If anything, they deserve our respect. Or at least most of them do. Only few of them have turned out to be bad eggs. Furthermore, just as there are bad human turned pokémon, there are bad, regular pokémon. So it's balanced no matter which way you look at it."

Aldous remained silent. She might've been half aware of their conversation, but her answer was absolutely philosophical to him. She brought up great points – points that he could not fight against, even if he wanted to. She spoke the unspoken truth of their species as a whole.

And it was for that very reason that he had supported the cause.

I'm terribly sorry for the lateness of these chapters! A lot of things have been going on. Combine that to major writer's block and you have long periods of unusual updates.

Also, I want to give a fair warning to everyone. Most of you, if not all of you, have already seen a rather cute romance starting to bloom between the main character and her partner. There are also the hinted romance suggestions blooming between the main characters and partners from other PMD games. I'm a sucker for love stories, what can I say?

Especially if you're a girl and you play as a girl character and have a male partner. It's kind of hinted that the male partner has more than just a "friendly" view of his partner in the game, or at least it seems that way to me.

Anyway, be warned that more sappiness is on its way! Hope all of you are enjoying the story as I am writing it!


	10. A Suspicious New Friend

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 9: A Suspicious New Friend

Lizette and her new companion remained in the library for over three hours. Neither spoke much after their conversation, but it wasn't an unwelcomed silence. It was a comforting silence between the two geniuses that were enveloped in research, occasionally sharing notes when something of interest popped up.

Aldous was completely oblivious of Lizette's subtle glances. She would look at him from time to time, mentally adding notes about her new companion. She wasn't sure of what she thought about him, but there was one thing that she knew about him for certain: he had no malice intentions.

She believed him to be like her, a young pokémon with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. That much had been obvious to her since the get-go. But there was something he wasn't telling her, and she couldn't quite figure out exactly what it was that he was hiding from her.

These thoughts would fade in and out. They would only come to the foremost part of her brain when she lost interest in her book. She would sneak a glance, and before he could notice, return it to her book and feign innocence.

But, despite these nagging thoughts, she was grateful. The three stacks of books she had compiled were almost done. Some books were set aside on one side of the table while another stack sat on the opposite end. One stack contained more information regarding the Mega Evolution, whereas the other half had nothing of it.

"Ahh, good books certainly make you lose track of time," he said, stretching his aching muscles.

She nodded, setting down her book. They were finally done. "Indeed. Though I'm still going to need to bring the books with more information to my home. I need to further investigate all of them, especially the ones you added. I'm hoping that the information will suffice."

"If they don't, then I can check my hometown," he offered. She gave him a bewildered look.

"You're not from around here?"

"Well, yes and no. I live here now, but I didn't before. My hometown isn't far away though." He scratched the back of his head. "I decided to move here after promising my friend that I would join her team."

"Oh," she stated.

He jumped out of his chair and stretched. "I probably should get going. Will I see you again? Or, rather, where do you live? I could come over sometime. Heck, I could bring over the team someday!"

"Have you seen the path of road near the exit of the southern part of town?" she asked as she gathered all of the useful books.

He nodded.

"My home is a little off the path if you follow it. Though it's not technically my home. It's Aiden's home. If you come over, just tell them that you're there to see Lizette. I'll probably either be inside, or out in back."

When she was finished, she turned to him with a grateful smile. He blushed a little, having briefly thought that she was cute. His blush had gone unnoticed.

"Thank you so much for your help. I appreciate it. Until next time, Aldous." She turned and left, turning around once more when she reached the exit of the library and waved goodbye.

He waved back, smiling mostly to himself. _Now _she_ was cute._

-x-x-x-x-

"Oh thank heavens!" Celine cried when Lizette returned home. The small cat-like pokémon was hugged tightly. "I was worried sick that something happened to you! You were gone for so long…"

"She's always like that," Aiden said from inside the base. "Once she gets her head in those books she loses track of time!"

Lizette rolled her eyes and pried herself from her friend's tight grip. "You'd be happy to know I've returned with good news!"

"And what's that?" he asked, sticking his head out the door.

"I've gathered more information regarding the existence of Mega Evolution." She pointed to her bag containing the books. She wore a smug look, obviously proud of her work.

She made sure to make no mention of her newest friend. She wanted to keep him a secret until she could figure him out. She was suspicious of him, but thought that he presented no real harm to her or her team. Granted, he was hiding something, that much was obvious, but she didn't believe that he could be dangerous.

The news was well received. Celine was absolutely giddy about it. She kept asking the psychic type what she found, but Lizette wouldn't give in. This, in turn, caused Aiden to question the truth behind her earlier statement.

He was silenced, though, when Celine glared at him. Then she started to scold him, telling him that it was wrong to have doubts of their friend. It worked, and he didn't say another word.

"Don't worry," Lizette reassured them as she grabbed her bag and walked towards the base, intent in locking herself in her room to study some more, "I'll get back to you. I want to write down some notes regarding what I found. Then I'll give you two a full report. What about things here?"

"They're not bad," Celine said with a mild frown. "Silver and Grovyle are resting inside; Jaxon hasn't left Kalista's side. It's kind of a..." she paused, searching for the right word, "depressing atmosphere."

Aiden shook his head. "We've already looked through the bulletin board too. Some new requests have popped up. We were thinking about doing some of them tomorrow. Did you want to come?"

Lizette shook her head no. Aiden glared at her. "You know," he started, "that fear of fighting you've got won't go away unless you make an effort."

"Then who would you suggest goes through these books, decipher what is and what is not important, and writes up a full report about it?" she questioned.

He did not answer, only egging her on. "Yes, you're right. My fear of fighting is well-known. And yes, I am aware that if I don't do missions with you then this fear I have will never subside. But I also believe it's important to gather meaningful information that can be used. And to do that, I need time. I promise you that you won't be disappointed. Besides, I'm no good on the battlefield."

"You weren't _that_ bad," Celine murmured.

Lizette shook her head. "I was. If I had waited a moment longer for my courage to come to life, I wouldn't be here. In fact, I would be dead and you two would be gravely injured."

"All the more reason why I think you should come with us," Aiden grumbled.

Lizette gave him a sharp glare. "I've already given you a reason why I can't go tomorrow. And it's not like I'm going to avoid _all_ our missions."

"No, but you might try giving us excuses," he countered.

"Excuse me?" she asked, infuriated. "Make excuses? You seriously think I would stoop down to that level?"

He snorted. "Why not? You stooped low enough to tell the enemy our secret."

Lizette went into stunned silence. Celine gasped, moving her hands over her mouth in surprise. "Aiden!"

"I will ask you this one question, Aiden," Lizette said, her gaze turning icy, "do you want information to help your team or not?"

"Yes, but-"

"But nothing. Now shut up, and let me do my work," Lizette snarled and brushed past him.

He stood there dumbfounded. He flinched slightly when he caught sight of Celine's glare. "I can't believe you just said that."

"What?" he asked. "It's the truth."

"You know she's been working real hard," Celine sighed, folding her arms in front of her chest. "When will you let that go?"

"Celine I can't simply forget that she nearly got you killed," Aiden said, snorting. "It's impossible to erase that fear."

She slapped him hard, making his head snap to the right. "You should start trying. She's been trying for you to forgive her and make something of herself in this group. She's been doing a wonderful job, and I thought you had finally let it go. Yet here you are; holding the same grudge as you did after the incident. I'm ashamed of you."

He said nothing, but watched as she stormed past him and after Lizette. He sighed, his shoulders slumping. _You don't understand, Celine. It's not easy to forgive her. I thought I could trust her. I thought that she was my best friend. And I thought I would never have to worry about her betraying me, or us. But she did it so easily. What's stopping her from doing it again?_

Shaking his head, he entered the base.

When he entered, he could see Celine and Lizette talking in the kitchen. Lizette obviously looked displeased, and she had their badge in the center of the table. She was glaring at Celine, but he couldn't make out the words she was saying. From the look of sympathy on Celine's face, he could only guess that she was trying to smooth things over, but wasn't making much progress.

Deciding that he would not interfere, he entered the living room where Kalista and Jaxon were. Kalista was asleep on one of the couches near the corner of the room. Jaxon was sitting on the floor beneath her. He would occasionally look at her when he thought she was beginning to stir, and then look back down in disappointment when he realized she wasn't waking up. He no longer smiled or acted cheerful. He looked so empty, so hopeless.

Aiden couldn't blame him. First his leader was kidnapped, and then his second closest friend falls under the curse. It was hard to remain cheerful under those circumstances.

"Another fight?" Jaxon murmured from where he sat.

Aiden perked his ears up, almost having not heard the raichu. He sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah."

"I figured. She stormed inside and right into the kitchen. Slammed that bag of hers down and scared me half to death. What did you two argue about?"

"Nothing much," Aiden said. "Just past issues I can't forget."

Jaxon lifted his head slowly. "You should try to make up with her."

"Why me?" Aiden asked, feeling his anger rise. Why was it always him who had to apologize? "I didn't do anything wrong."

"You still care about her, don't you?" Jaxon countered. "If you let petty things destroy your friendships, then you won't last long."

"It wasn't petty! She betrayed us! She told the enemy that Celine was a human!" Aiden snapped.

Jaxon's expression didn't change. He just sighed and set his gaze downcast. "Yet you allowed her to join your team."

Aiden grunted. "That's… That's because she's intelligent and we could use that for our team."

"That's not why, and you know it," Jaxon scoffed. "You still care about her. Deep down, you did forgive her. If you hadn't she wouldn't be apart of your team. Aiden let me tell you a secret. Friends define us."

"They do?" Aiden questioned. "How so?"

"They do so many things to brighten up our lives, viewpoints, and aspects. They change the world from a cold, emotionless place into a warm and loving home. They help us fight, defend, heal, lift up our courage, and embrace who we want to become. With them, we can let our inner selves shine and forget the judging eyes of the world. Our friendships can go down so many different paths. They can became serious relationships, or just become a pair of two best friends who trust each other completely."

Aiden folded his arms, obviously not seeing where Jaxon was going with this. "And the strongest bonds are the some of the very first we forged. She was your first real friend, wasn't she?"

"Yes," Aiden said slowly. "Which makes it even harder for me to forgive her."

"Ironically, it makes it easier." Jaxon chuckled and lifted his head to stare at the ceiling. "You can ignore it all you want, but you've already forgiven her. She's your first real best friend, and deep down you know she means well. She did wander down a wrong path, and she did hurt you and Celine, but she's still here and trying her hardest to earn your forgiveness. She acknowledges the fact that she did something horribly wrong and regrets it. If she didn't care about you Aiden, she would've given up on your friendship. The same can be said about you as well in terms of how you feel about the bond you two share."

Jaxon smirked lightly. "It's not to be confused with the feelings of love you hold for Celine."

"L-l-l-love?!" Aiden exclaimed, quickly covering his mouth and glancing towards the kitchen. When he saw no movement, he shot a look of bafflement towards Jaxon. "I don't love her! I just…admire…her?"

"Hahaha," Jaxon laughed. "If you're going to say that, you should try to say it with a bit more confidence. Aiden, both of them are special to you. Celine stole your heart, and Lizette was your first real friend. Without them, your world would be darker. Don't try denying how special those two really are to you, Aiden."

"And just how do you know I like Celine and treasure Lizette?" Aiden asked.

Jaxon's eyes began to water up and a tired smile appeared on his face. "Because that's how I feel about Nyla. I know what you're feeling for both. Nyla, my dearest companion and the love of my life, and Kalista, my closest friend. I can't picture my life without either of them in it. They helped shaped me for the better - just as Celine and Lizette are doing for you. You won't notice it right away, but it's happening."

Aiden said nothing. He thought about the raichu's words, mildly surprised when he realized that a part of him had already forgiven Lizette. He couldn't stop the smile from spreading when he thought about Lizette when they were kids. All their good memories made it easier and took away most of his pain.

But part of him felt bad. "We'll find them," he said aloud, causing Jaxon to look at him quizzically. "We will find and bring back Nyla and rescue Kalista."

This hardened resolve made Jaxon smile. "Thank you."

"No, thank you," Aiden said as he walked over towards the kitchen, "for opening my eyes."

-x-x-x-x-

"I just can't believe him!" Lizette sighed angrily. "I tried so hard, and I thought that I had finally earned back his trust! Only to find out that I never will find that trust again. All because of one stupid mistake."

She started sniffling. She looked at her books on the table. "I thought he would be proud of me. I thought that with my intelligence, I could repair what I had broken. I wish there was book that told me how to build a time machine. I would have never had done that if I knew that it would cost me my friend!"

"Oh Lizzy…" Celine frowned, putting her hand on top of Lizette's. "He doesn't hate you. That trust is still there. Just… give him time, okay? You should know better than anyone here just how stubborn he really is."

Lizette cracked a smile. "That's true," she admitted.

Celine smiled. "So then don't leave the team. Your friendship with him will heal with time. Try thinking of it in this way, if he thought that he would never forgive you, then why did he ask you to join our team?"

"I thought you had influenced that decision," Lizette admitted sheepishly, "I figured he was doing it because you asked him. Are you telling me he asked me to join the team of his own regard?"

She nodded, adding to Lizette's shock. Her ears slowly perked up and her face brightened. "Really? He…he asked me…without anyone suggesting it?"

Celine chuckled and nodded again. Lizette beamed. "Then hope isn't lost! Part of him must have already forgiven me!"

"Exactly. So don't worry about his mood swings. I think he's just tired. Anyone would be when they realized how big our problem really is." Celine sighed, her ears drooping. "Hopefully our missions for the next few weeks will help us become stronger."

"You've already planned that far ahead?" Lizette asked.

"Yeah," Celine nodded, "We planned to use these missions for experience and to grow stronger. Aiden and I especially need it. I understand why you're not doing it right now, and honestly I do prefer you staying behind to do more research. Because if you find something about these stones, then we'll hopefully be prepared for the journey to wherever they're located. In the end, it will all pay off."

Lizette looked over at her books. She thought about telling Celine about the person she'd met, but she was still uncertain if she should or not. She hadn't gathered all the facts and that's what unnerved her the most. Despite that, she just couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't bad. He was just a genuinely interesting guy who was curious of everything. And that was enough to peak her interest in him.

With a deep breath, she decided to reveal her newest friend. "I met someone today in the library, who, in my opinion, is a very curious guy. He's thirsty for knowledge, and he seems to be very intellectual."

"Really?" Celine asked.

She chuckled, remembering how strange he was. "He's certainly amusing, and I really did enjoy his company. He told me that he's apart of a rescue team. They're fairly new though – a few months old, to be exact. I did tell him a little about our team, but not the big secrets. He might drop by, and if he does…" she paused, her eyebrows furrowing together.

It hadn't struck her until now. She was very curious about him and obviously wanted to learn more, but being around her and her team could be dangerous to him. The enemy could mistake him as a friend and ally to her team, and possibly attempt to hurt his team the same way they had hurt Team PokéStars.

The mental images of Silver's and Grovyle's grave wounds were burned in her memories. It was enough to make her cringe when she thought something similar might happen to Aldous and his friends.

Her conflicted expression didn't go unnoticed.

"…Then?" Celine asked, snapping the meowstic out of her thoughts.

Lizette shook her head. "Nothing. I'll have a talk with him and tell him that I changed my mind about him stopping by."

"Why? You sounded so happy!" Celine said.

"There are a lot of reasons," she stated, "For example, what if the enemy saw them hanging around us? They would mistake them as an ally to us and potentially harm them the way they hurt Silver and Grovyle. I just don't believe it's fair to drag them into a situation that has nothing to do with them."

Celine instantly believed it was her fault. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's not your fault!" Lizette said, waving her hands. "I don't blame you for it. It's not your fault. I can still meet up with him, but in secret and with…less people around. That way he can still help, but he won't get dragged into this."

She didn't believe her, but said nothing.

"Lizette?" Aiden asked, walking into the kitchen.

The two females paused in their conversation. Lizette glared at him from the corner of her eyes. Despite the conversation she had earlier with Celine, she wouldn't forgive him so easily for yelling at her.

And Celine was busy hoping that Aiden hadn't come over to make things worse.

Aiden paused at the entrance and scratched the back of his head. "Uh…I…wanted to apologize."

Lizette couldn't hide the shock on her face. "Apologize?"

"Yeah. I want to apologize for my actions earlier. I hope that you can forgive me and pardon my inexcusable behavior," he said with his head lowered.

At first, Lizette believed he was acting, but upon closer inspection, she noticed that there was a light blush tinting his cheeks. He was embarrassed!

She knew that he wasn't much for apologizing, but when he did, he always had this embarrassed blush. The fact that his apology was earnest was enough to melt away her anger. She found it hard to stay mad.

"I forgive you, but can you promise me that we'll try as hard as we can to avoid this reoccurring conflict? It's getting rather tiresome. We have more important things to be worrying our heads off of."

He chuckled and nodded. "I can try."

"Well," she began as she gathered the books up in her arms, "it's best I get to my room and begin my research. The faster I get through these books, the faster I can pick out the useful information and help you two."

"Do you think those books will have everything you're looking for?" Celine questioned.

Lizette shrugged. "Don't know, to be honest. But even if they don't, the friend I told you about offered to return to his hometown to retrieve more books on the matter. If it comes to that, I'll probably go with him."

This was the first time Aiden heard any of this. "Wait, you met someone who knows about this?"

"Well, I wouldn't say he _knows_ about it so as much as he's heard of it. But he's also on a rescue team and I didn't feel no form of malice from him," Lizette said.

She bade the two farewell and immediately left to her room. Celine smirked at Aiden with both of her hands resting on her hips. "So, what made you come in and apologize?"

"I had a very good talk with Jaxon. He brought up some points that I hadn't even realized, and when I did, well… I just saw that he was right. Anyway, what about this new friend of hers?" he asked.

"She didn't say much. Just that she thinks him to be her equal in terms of intelligence."

She frowned. Aiden raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"

She shook her head. "Nothing."

"Celine," he warned.

Celine sighed and sat down. "She said something that I hadn't thought of. She sounded like she wanted to invite him over, but reconsidered it because she doesn't want him to be seen with us."

"Why?" he asked, surprised. It only took him a moment to figure out why, but she told him anyway.

"Because she's afraid that our enemy might see him and mistake him and his team to be our allies. She doesn't want to drag them into our problems. And before you go mad, she didn't say it to hurt me. It was something I think it just came up on the spot and she quickly reconsidered it. Do you think that's why Silver and Grovyle were hurt? Because of us?"

Aiden shook his head. "No. They were going to get hurt anyway because they were searching for their leader."

Their conversation was interrupted when they heard a knock. Celine tilted her head to the side. "It's nearly nightfall. Who in the world would be visiting at this hour?"

"I don't know," Aiden said, his eyes narrowing.

He left the kitchen with Celine on his heels. They approached the door carefully. After a moment of silence, they opened it.

"Hi!" came a male's voice. "Is Lizette here?"

Aiden stared at the trio of pokémon standing before him. There stood a frogadier, floette, and a meowstic. The meowstic was sitting on top of the frogadier's head with a big grin as he stared up at Aiden. The frogadier didn't seem to mind, but had his attention turned elsewhere. He had a look that said that he would rather be somewhere else. The final member of their team was smiling warmly at the pair in front of them.

"We're terribly sorry for intruding on you at such an hour, but our friend here told us that he had a new friend he wanted to show us."

"At this hour?" Aiden asked, not pleased in the slightest.

Celine offered a weak smile, not sure of what to make of the situation. "It's fine. I'll go get Lizzy. Why not come in?"

"We wouldn't want to a bother," the frogadier said, glancing at her.

Celine felt her uneasiness grow and backed away, still retaining her weak smile. "Um, I leave the rest to you Aiden!"

Before he could say anything, she darted off. He glared at her, but sighed and smiled at the trio of pokémon. "Please, come in. You won't be bothering us."

The first to fly in was Aldous. He ran after Celine, obviously excited to see and speak with Lizette again so soon. Fiona chuckled as she entered the house, commenting on their friends joy. "My, it's been a while since I've seen him get this excited!"

"Thanks," Drexel murmured as he followed after Fiona. "I swear that 90% of his entire being is filled with sugar. He's far too hyper."

Fiona rolled her eyes. "Oh shush you. It's good to see him smiling so earnestly again!"

"So, may I get you anything?" Aiden asked as he led them to the living room.

He stopped when he remembered that Jaxon and Kalista were still in the living room. Not wanting to disturb him or frighten their guests, he turned towards the kitchen. "Let's go to the kitchen instead."

"Aiden," Jaxon called from the living room, as if reading his mind, "if you have guests it's fine to bring them in here. I wont be bothered."

Aiden glanced towards the living room in thought. Shifting his gaze to the two pokémon, he answered their confused stares. "Recently a friend of ours has fallen under the sleeping curse. She's currently residing in the living room with her friend. I didn't want the visual to disturb you or make you feel uneasy."

Fiona put her hands over her mouth in shock. "Oh you poor thing. I'm terribly sorry about your friend."

He shook his head. "It's fine. We're working to figuring out the cause behind it."

"So, you're one of the teams looking into the matter?" Fiona questioned.

"There are others?"

She nodded. "Yes. Some friends of mine from another town have recently begun their search into the matter themselves. They asked us to join, but…" she glanced at Drexel, "we're currently doing some other things."

Drexel spoke up, "There's been an awful lot of unrest lately. Everybody is busy trying to rescue others who are in dire need of it."

"So, does that mean your looking into the kidnapping or saving pokémon from the natural disasters?" Aiden asked.

For the briefest of seconds, he noticed Fiona freeze. Drexel was the one who answered. "Both, kind of. Mostly been helping those who have been left homeless due to the unnatural causes of mother earth's anger. We haven't had any luck on the case of pokémon being kidnapped unfortunately."

"Ah!" Fiona gasped, backing away. "Y-your…!"

Aiden turned to see Grovyle leaning against the wall. Most of his bandages were gone. "That's Grovyle the Thief! What's he doing here?!"

"Heh," Grovyle chuckled, "Still calling me that, eh?"

"He's a friend of ours. He's from Team PokéStars. He's not an enemy or a thief," Aiden said, giving Grovyle a glare as if he was asking him what he was doing out of bed.

Grovyle shrugged and entered the living room.

"Team PokéStars and Team Echo Hearts are here?" Fiona asked. "So it was true what Aldous told us!"

They followed Aiden to the kitchen. They took their seats at the kitchen table. Aiden couldn't help but stare at them curiously as he retrieved glasses and poured them some water.

The floette nodded in the direction of the hallway. "Our friend, Aldous, said that he met a rather curious lady during his time in the library today. He told us that she was friends with two rather famous exploration teams."

"But that's not why we're here," she said quickly. "We thought it might be nice to meet up with a fellow rescue team and give Aldous a chance to see his friend again."

"At this hour of night?" Aiden questioned.

Fiona chuckled weakly. "He was very insistent."

He quirked an eyebrow; he'd noticed their strange behaviors and the constant glances they shared. They were here for something else, but Aiden wouldn't pester them about it. He decided to stay on his guard, just in case though.

A moment later Celine entered the kitchen with a sigh. "What's up?"

"Huh?" she asked, then grinned sheepishly when she noticed them, "Oh, sorry! Lizette… kind of… threw a fit? And…she threw books… and one of them hit me. But it didn't hurt!"

"What the heck is she doing throwing books?" Aiden demanded.

"Not sure… Despite her… outburst, she's calmed down. Anyway, hello. My name is Celine and, if he hasn't introduced himself, this is Aiden. I'm not sure how much Lizette has told your friend."

"Not a lot," Fiona reassured, "just the mere facts. He told us that his friend was apart of a rescue team and was friends with two other famous teams. His idols, if I may say. Has your friend mentioned us by any chance?"

"Not really," Aiden answered. "Just that she met someone she believed was equal in terms of intelligence."

"Those two should get along then!" Fiona laughed.

Upon hearing a grunt, they all turned to see Aldous walking into the kitchen with a minor grin. "Dang, she's tougher than I thought!"


	11. Team Invincible Hope's Secret

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 10: Team Invincible Hope's Secret

\- Earlier that evening -

"What are you doing here?" Lizette demanded the moment Celine closed her door.

Aldous stood awkwardly by her door, rubbing his arm absentmindedly. He hadn't been expecting such a harsh way of greeting. It was obvious he was none to pleased with her either, "Was it necessary to throw those books?"

"Answer the question!"

He winced inwardly at the harshness in her tone. "Sheesh, I just wanted to see you."

Lizette tapped her foot rather impatiently.

"You were interesting," he grumbled, "and I just found myself wanting to know more about you. Plus, you kind of have my idols in your friend's house. Wanted to see them for myself, but I thought I'd say hello to you."

Her right eyebrow began to twitch. Her anger was only growing. "So you decided to pay me a visit during nightly hours _on_ the same day we met? This couldn't have waited until _morning_?"

"Well, there's exactly another reason behind me being here…"

"Out with it then!"

Again, he winced at the harshness of her tone. "I didn't say anything earlier because it kind of slipped my mind, but I'm actually looking into the stones as well."

Lizette's anger died down, if only a little, but her suspicion rose. There was that nagging feeling again. It was telling her that he was hiding something, but what? "Why are you looking for the stones?"

"To grow stronger," he answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Why else would anyone look for them?"

She didn't buy it. "Because we all know that it's normal for an ancient process to be looked into after nobody has bothered for centuries."

"Well, you don't know if that's true," he countered. "Other's might've looked into it, but never made any real progress. Plus, there are more serious things going on now than there has ever been in the past."

"How much info do you know?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Not much," he admitted, "but that's not stopping me from looking."

She showed no change in her expression. Honestly, she had suspected as much. She figured that if he knew half of what she knew, he would immediately cease all search into the location of the stones.

"Hmm, makes me wonder how much of what you told me before is true," she said calmly.

He looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"You told me that you read all those books in the library," she began, eying him carefully. "But that can't be true, because if you had, then you would already know what's needed for such an ancient process to work."

"You just need the stones," he said. She shook her head.

"Either you lied to me," she said, leaning against her bedroom wall with her arms still crossed, "or you're hiding something. I'd pick the latter of the two because I honestly can't picture you being as careless as you're acting."

As if she had revealed some big secret about him, his carefree form immediately fell. He was now standing in front of her with a mirrored look of suspicion.

"I must commend you for being able to see past that. If it were anyone else, they'd be fooled. I see it didn't work so much on you," he said, as if coming to a conclusion. "But I wasn't lying about how much you interest me."

He walked over to the pile of books she had sprawled all over her bed. There was an open notebook next to one of the open books with some notes she had written down.

"Interesting?" she asked, "how so?"

"Because you say things differently than others. You're cautious; it's as if you've gone through something that changed your outlook on things." She immediately tensed. "And judging by how you're reacting, I can see that my thought is right."

He looked at her, his gaze thoughtful and calculating. "Didn't think I noticed those glances at the library, did you now?"

She grunted and looked away. "You say I'm hiding something," he said, "but I have a feeling you're hiding something too."

Aldous stood in front of her. She glared at him, daring him to try to make a move. She felt her feline senses pick up a tint of danger from the cat-like pokémon standing in front of her.

He put his hands on either side of her head, trapping her. She didn't budge or show an ounce of fear. Instead, she stood strong and glared at him. Her strong display amused him, and he smirked. "You really do grow more interesting as time goes on."

"Glad I can keep you interested. My friends say that I am chock full of surprises," she said.

"Well, they certainly aren't lying."

"So," she started, fairly confident in her ability to maneuver herself out of this situation, "this is your true side, huh? Can't say it doesn't suit you."

He chuckled. "The carefree attitude is just a muse to fool people. Very few can see past it. Interested?"

"Are you attempting to seduce me?" she asked flatly.

Suddenly, he began laughing, unnerving her in the process. He backed away, holding his stomach. "My," he laughed, "You simply are too interesting and amusing!"

She wasn't sure if she should take that as a compliment. So, she moved to another side of the room, wanting to put as much space between them as possible. He settled down a few moments later, wiping a tear away, but still giggling.

"Care to tell me what you're trying to hide from me?" she asked.

He smiled. "Remember what I said before? Information for information~"

_Damn._ "Alright, then, what are you so suspicious about?"

He pointed directly at her. She quirked an eyebrow, not quite understanding what he was getting at. "You're suspicious of me?"

"Bingo!" he said.

"I don't see what you have to be suspicious about," she stated, hoping to get some freeway. "I've already told you everything I know."

"But that's where your wrong," he sang, walking back to her. "You didn't tell me _why_ you're looking into the stones. You also seem to know more about the Mega Evolution than you're letting on, and I'm curious to know what type of information you have."

She bit the inside of her cheek. "Why does it matter if I'm looking into the stones?"

"Yes, why did it matter to you when I told you the same?"

She found herself in the same type of situation she had put him in only moments ago. The mere fact that he was getting closer to her was making her thought process even slower. She didn't like him. She wanted to be as far away from this guy as soon as possible.

In the back of her mind, however, his tactics fascinated her. It was only moments ago that he was in her position, scrambling to come up with convenient lies. It was definitely a thrill for her brain. A challenge she was eagerly excited to accept.

Lizette cleared her throat, signifying that she didn't like the distance he was closing between them. She backed away. "I ask because it's highly unusual for anyone to be looking up such an ancient process. I'm just a simple bookworm who stumbled upon something fascinating. You can choose to believe me or not, but I don't care. What I say is nothing but the truth."

"As for what you said before," she continued, going back to one of his earlier questions, "I don't judge others based on what the populace believes. I have read all the legends. I've only heard good things about them, but I'm not delusional enough to believe that they're all good. There are some bad human turned pokémon, but that's just how the balance works. There are good pokémon and there are bad; what makes anyone think the hybrid pokémon are any different?"

She was praying that he bought her half-lie. She didn't need to tell him that there was another reason to her believing that human turned pokémon weren't all that bad. There were no reasons on why he had to know that her leader, and friend, was actually among these hybrid pokémon as she called them.

And she certainly didn't want to bring up the very event that caused her to be wary of others. That was just like asking if she wanted to rub more salt on the wound.

It seemed that he bought it. That was until he asked her: "So, if that's the case, then why did you react so harshly upon seeing me? I could understand surprise, but that was certainly no act of surprise. It must've not been a normal reaction either as your friend was caught off guard about it."

"That's because you caught me off guard," she defended rather quickly.

He shrugged. "Yeah, I totally don't buy that excuse. You didn't throw a tantrum like that when we met in the library. In fact, you were cool and collected."

_Dammit, _she thought bitterly. "Oh, and your delay in the responses department still makes me believe you haven't told me _everything._"

"Your the one to talk," she scowled. "You expect me to tell you all my darkest secrets when I hardly know you? Let alone that, you still haven't told me what _you're_ hiding."

"Touché," he chuckled. "Well, you have nothing to worry about because I've already admitted everything to you. I have nothing to hide. The only thing I really didn't show was my real posture and attitude."

She smirked. "I still don't believe in your covered up lie about why you're looking for those stones. Sorry, but I just don't believe it's a topic that many pokémon would exactly be interested in, let alone research it. I'm sure there have been numerous rescue teams or explorer teams that have heard of it, but never bothered with it."

"Also, don't bother lying to me," she said, raising a paw to stop him from interrupting her, "because ever since I've met you, I've had this distinct feeling you weren't exactly being truthful."

He shrugged. "It's a simple reason, and one I figured you'd already figure out. I just want to help my team grow stronger to make our missions easier and quicker. That way we can save twice as many pokémon and get things done at a faster pace."

Then she said something that she knew that she was going to regret later, "The process doesn't work without the assistance of a human."

This new bit of information silenced him. She could see the gears working in his head and could only guess half of the conclusions that he was coming up with. Hoping to disrupt his train of thought, she continued, "But it's funny how you said that my outlook on human turned pokémon is different from the norm. What made _you_ believe differently?"

"The same thing that you said," he answered simply. "Read the legends, and so on and so forth." Then it was back to working on those conclusions of his.

Her eyes narrowed. He was being vague. He was taking her answer and using it as his own. Then an idea popped into her head. "How old did you say your team was?"

"Just a few months old," he answered, pausing from his thought process, "Why?"

A smirk played at the corners of her mouth. She had come up with a theory; one she believed wasn't falsely placed. It wasn't that long ago when Celine came into their lives. To be exact, it was only a few months ago that she appeared and the team was formed.

Putting her hands on her hips and smiling at him smugly, she announced her thoughts. "I get it now. It took a bit of thinking, but I think I know what you're desperately trying to hide. One of your teammates is a human, aren't they?"

His reaction only proved she was on the right mark. He shook his head, all composure lost.

"That's why you came here," she continued, "you were worried that I might be a threat since I was looking into the ancient process. And since you were worried, you knew it was something that couldn't be waited upon. So you came here as early as you could to spy on me and my team."

"That's nothing but a lie!" he growled.

"Oh?" she challenged, raising one of her eyebrows amusedly. "Then let's put it to the test."

He followed after her as she left her room and walked towards the living room. If her theory was right, then she needed someone to be able to tell the differences apart a normal pokémon and a hybrid. And who better to do the job than Jaxon himself? After all, it had been him who so quickly discovered that Celine wasn't a regular pokémon.

Aldous paused at the entrance of the kitchen. He couldn't understand where she was going with this. So instead he groaned and entered the kitchen.

It was only moments later Jaxon and Lizette returned to the kitchen. Aldous glared at her from the corner of his eyes, obviously not trusting her next move.

She smiled at him smugly as she placed her hands on her hips. "I think I know why Aldous and his team came to us so late."

Aiden and Celine exchanged looks, and then looked back at Lizette. "One of his teammates is actually a human turned pokémon."

Fiona immediately jumped out of her seat. "Now hold on a minute," she said, "what made you think of something like that?"

Lizette eyed her. "You guys all react strangely, or at least Aldous and you do. Your friend here doesn't seem to be bothered. Probably a front though," she said.

She turned to her teammates and told them of the full story of what happened in her room. Aldous was looking away shamefully, obviously not being used to being easily discovered. When she was finished with her explanation, it appeared that they, along with Jaxon, agreed with her theory.

"Now, please don't take this the wrong way," Jaxon said as he walked up to Fiona and Drexel, "But I'm going to need to smell the both of you."

Fiona couldn't stop her mouth from dropping. "Excuse me? Did I just hear you right? You're going to _sniff_ us? That's positively rude!"

"Not rude, really," he said, scratching the back of his head. "It's just my way of separating human turned pokémon from regular pokémon."

Fiona shied away a little, obviously not liking this one bit. "This is outrageous…"

Jaxon ignored her protest and sniffed the air around her. He shook his head and walked over to Drexel. He sniffed the air again, but this time nodded to Lizette.

She crossed her arms and shifted her gaze to see Aldous' unhappy one. It was now out in the open.

"So," she started. "It appears that Drexel is another human turned pokémon. Not surprised though."

Fiona jumped in front of him. "Don't you dare try to hurt him! He's done nothing wrong!"

Celine looked at Aiden nervously. He let out a sigh and shook his head. "Liz? Can we please have a moment?"

"I don't see why not," she started, glaring at Aldous, "but I hate to tell you I knew you were hiding something. Either way, don't you guys fret-"

"Lizette, a word please," Aiden warned, grabbing one of her ears and pulled her out of the kitchen.

Celine looked back and forth between Aiden and Jaxon. Jaxon gave her a nod and she ran after the two. Jaxon just smiled at them reassuringly. "Don't worry you guys. We aren't the bad guys. After all, you said that you've heard of my team and Team PokéStars, right? That should be enough proof for now that we're not bad or anything."

"But… how did you know?" Fiona asked, unsettled and perplexed by the very idea that he was able to figure out who the human was among them.

Jaxon shrugged. "Well, after years of working with my partner and running into other human turned pokémon, I guess I gained the ability to tell who is who."

He went silent when the trio walked back in together. Lizette was still rubbing her ear, obviously not happy with Aiden's methods of taking her out of the room. Celine was fidgeting slightly with her gaze locked on the floor. Aiden looked indifferent to the entire thing.

Team Invincible Hope was even more confused when Grovyle limped into the room.

"It would appear that you were right in your theory," Lizette grumbled as Grovyle passed her.

"Well, it _was_ the most logical one," he countered with a smug look. She rolled her eyes and looked away.

"To clear up any fear," Aiden started, gaining the teams attention. "You're not in any danger. Whether it be coincidence or not, you actually stumbled upon a…temporarily safe heaven. I can see why you guys didn't say your real reasoning for being here. It's no longer safe to walk around saying that you're one of the human turned pokémon."

"Which is exactly why we would rather you not tell anyone," Fiona said.

"Um," Celine whispered with a small gulp, "We understand that feeling very well. In fact, we're exactly in your situation as well."

Lizette snorted and rolled her eyes again. "Okay, I've had enough of this cryptic stuff already. Basically, what we're saying is that we also have a human turned pokémon among us."

She pointed a thumb in Celine's direction. Celine seemed to blush a little and fidget under the surprised stares she was receiving.

"_You're_ another human turned pokémon?" Fiona asked. "But…I thought the legends said that… a single human was called down. Did you have mission before?"

Celine shook her head. "No, in fact, my mission is most likely dealing with the kidnappings."

"I came up with a theory," Grovyle said, hoping to relieve some of the confusion in the air, "that there were other human turned pokémon called down into our world. What you said is true: only one human has been called each time to deal with a specific case. I doubt this situation is any different."

"But how isn't it?" Drexel countered, finally coming out of his silence.

"Because these events shouldn't be grouped together as they're all separate problems that have been combined into one major problem."

Aldous nodded his head, understanding the theory, "So, instead of looking at all three as one major problem, it's actually three problems. And three humans were called to deal with these problems."

"Yes, that is true, but I believe there's more to it than that," Lizette stated. "I believe that all three were called down to deal with the problems, but I also believe that they're meant to find each other and work together to solve the problems. These problems are far bigger than we have ever encountered before. So I guess that would explain why three humans were called down instead just one."

"So this is why you were looking into Mega Evolution," Aldous commented. "You were looking to get stronger as well."

She nodded. "This has never happened before, and it's concerning. From what I hear, evolution for human turned pokémon, or hybrids, as I call them now, was absolutely forbidden until their mission was fully completed. But we have two of them standing before us now as proof that this is no normal mission."

"Which means there is one more human in the pokémon world," Fiona whispered thoughtfully.

Lizette nodded and turned back to Aldous. Now that it was out in the open, she felt it was time to explain her earlier actions. "I'm sorry for having harmed you, but there was a motive behind my earlier actions. You see, since Celine is a hybrid pokémon, I feared that you being seen with us would only cause you more harm. You might be able to tell from Grovyle's wounds, but Team PokéStars was recently attacked; their second-in-command, Vivian, has been adducted. I was hoping that I would ward you off so that you wouldn't get hurt."

"That's certainly a better explanation than you gave me before," he agreed.

While they talked it over, Drexel and Celine exchanged glances.

She wondered how he had felt when he realized he was no longer a pokémon. Had he reacted the same way she had? How did his partners find them? And now that the secret was out among them, how long would it be until the enemy figured it out?

Then a strange thought occurred in the back of her mind. "Did you guys ever encounter someone by the name of Zoroark?"

The looks she got gave her the answer. They all looked confused, as if it were the first time they even heard the name. It probably meant Zoroark had no idea about them. And it most likely meant he was unaware of a third human in their world.

Either way, she wasn't going to worry about it now. He was holed up in his house in the forest, and she didn't plan to travel all the way back there just to tell him that there are other humans in the world.

By the time she tuned back into the conversation, they were talking about living arrangements. "Actually, we've been residing in the hotel until some of the people we hired finished our base. It's actually not far from here. It's along the east pathway."

"Really? So that would explain all the gossip," Lizette sighed, amused.

"You heard?"

"Unfortunately for you guys, word does travel fast around here. You've seen the well, right? That's where all the 'gossip' girls hang out. If there's something new happening in town, they're the first to know. I'm actually one of them, but I've been out of the loop as of late. With all my research and other things going on, I haven't the time to listen to their idle gossip."

Ignoring her rambling, Aiden went on. "How long until the base is completed?"

"A couple more weeks at the very least," Aldous said.

The room fell into complete silence. Celine didn't like it a bit. She looked around to see that everyone had a thoughtful expression.

_I guess it's hard not to be thoughtful,_ she thought as she leaned against her hand. But there was one thing nagging her. "So, what are the plans from here on out?"

The members of Team Invincible Hope looked around expectantly, as if it was something they had just been thinking about.

Lizette eyed Aldous from the corner of her eye. Celine had to hide the small smile playing at her lips. She could see the slightest tint of red on the female meowstic's face.

Apparently Aiden noticed it as well, "Liz?"

"Y-yes!" she blurted, standing straight.

Aiden questioningly raised an eyebrow. She just smiled weakly, wordlessly telling him that it was none of his business.

She coughed and cleared her throat, becoming serious once more. "Well, one part of the mission was to find proof that there are other human turned pokémon among us. I say that Aldous' friend here is proof that there is one more human remaining and that we must find him or her."

"Also," she began, looking between Aldous and the rest of his team, "Have you had any reoccurring dreams?"

Fiona's worried gaze towards Drexel told Lizette all the information that she needed.

"I'll be taking that as a yes. Well, it's not abnormal. Celine has also had reoccurring dreams, but they've been linked to the raising threat of the Dark Army. I'm not going to ask you to tell us what you've had dreams of, but I want you to be aware that might be a hint, or answer, to your mission in our world."

"I thought as much," Aldous murmured from his spot.

"I also suggest we become partners," Lizette said, looking all around the room. "Team PokéStars and Team Echo Hearts have suffered causalities that have limited them on how much help they can be. And I'm not willing to throw them into anymore danger since this is _our_ mission."

Jaxon apparently didn't appreciate that as he interrupted her, "Hey! This is our mission to – our friends have been captured and who knows what they're going through?"

"How can you help when two of your members are down?" Lizette countered, immediately silencing Jaxon. She sent a look over to Grovyle who merely scowled and looked away. "I understand that these are your comrades and it's not easy not being able to do much, but you guys need rest. Grovyle, you and Silver have just been seriously injured. You need time to recover from those wounds. And Jaxon, Kalista needs you. I'm more than certain that you being near her is helping her."

"I agree," Celine said, taking charge. "You guys have been a wonderful help to us and you will continue to help us. I have no doubt about that, but right now you guys can't and I simply cannot ask you to help us without knowing you might be next on their hit list. I feel self-centered saying this, but this is what I was called down to do. This is what my two human companions have been called to handle. This is our mission, our responsibility."

"But…" Jaxon began, looking at her worriedly.

She smiled and shook her head. "No buts. We're not alone. We have our own teams, right?"

Drexel shared a small smile with her and nodded. He looked at the raichu. "We aren't sure of you went through, but she is right. We have our own teams, and we'll be stronger when we find the other human. So don't worry about us."

Jaxon, defeated, let out a sigh and nodded wordlessly. Grovyle walked out of the room without another word. Celine thought he might be mad at her, but she believed it was for the best.

"Celine, don't worry about Grovyle," Lizette reassured. "He's probably just like Aiden in the stubborn department."

"Excuse me?" Aiden asked flatly, obviously insulted by her words.

Lizette stuck out her tongue. "It's true."

"So, it's settled then?" Fiona asked from where she sat. "We will be working together as a team from here on out?"

Celine just nodded. She firmly believed in what she said. It was _their_ responsibilities. Now that they learned of Drexel's team, she could only believe there was one more human turned pokémon out there. And, deep in her heart, she felt that they needed to meet up and combine powers to deal with their current situation.

But then she thought about their enemy.

Lizette must have sensed her thoughts, because she folded her arms in a thoughtful matter. Aiden noticed this, but said nothing. He could guess at what they were thinking about, but he didn't want Lizette to think Celine told him everything. He knew there was some form of 'girl' bond going on between the two.

Though he wasn't the only one to have noticed it. Aldous stared at Lizette. "What's up?"

She didn't answer at first until she released a defeated sigh. "No matter which way I look at it, you being near us is going to put you on their radar."

"Whose radar?"

"The Dark Army…" Celine murmured, shuddering at the thought.

Drexel and the others didn't seem to understand.

"The Dark Army, along with another 'rescue' team called Team Poisonix, is our enemy," Lizette said.

"And we're sure that they're keeping tabs on us," Celine continued. "Since they're aware that I'm a human turned pokémon."

"They're already aware? How did they find out?" Fiona gasped.

Lizette immediately paled and lowered her gaze. Celine and Aiden stayed alert so that the two members at the table didn't see her reaction. But Aldous had, and he could only guess it had to do with why she was picky with her words.

"Pure luck," Aiden defended. "But then again, we kind of stood out during that one incident. Vivian, the second-in-command of Team PokéStars was looking for help in her search and Celine and I kind of offered in front of an entire crowd. Team Poisonix witnessed this and they've been attacking us ever since."

"Oh." Fiona looked to Drexel for what they should do, but he shrugged. He had no clue.

"At the very least, you should try to keep minimal contact with us," Lizette whispered. "One of you should make arrangements with one of us and look discreet when we meet up."

"I'll do it," Aldous smirked. "If they were indeed spying on you, then they'd already seen me."

_That's not something you should be proud of…_ she thought worriedly. "A-all right. I have no problem with that."

"Then it's settled!" he exclaimed cheerily. He walked over and shook her hand eagerly. His smile only seemed to grow bigger. She felt herself blush a little.

She was a little disappointed when he backed up and looked to his team. "We should be going. It's getting pretty late, and I'm sure we've overstayed our welcome."

Celine shook her head. "Oh no," she said, "you guys didn't. In fact, it was a pleasure meeting you guys."

Drexel didn't need to be told twice. He just grunted his goodbye and left the kitchen. Fiona followed after him quickly, but not before turning back to bow apologetically to Celine and her friends. Aldous took the longest to leave, as he kept his eye locked solely on Lizette. With a smirk, he left.

When they were gone, Lizette let out a huge sigh. That'd been extremely stressful.

"Weren't we lucky?" Celine asked nobody in particular. "We proved that Grovyle's theory was right, and we've gained a new ally!"

Lizette didn't share in her enthusiasm. She was staring off in the direction that Aldous and his team left on. She was worried about what kind of danger she had just pulled him into.

She wasn't delusional to believe that he would always be safe, but she couldn't help the fear that Aldous' leader's secret would be revealed the more they interacted.

As if sensing her worry, Celine put a hand on her shoulder. Lizette looked at her, not bothering to hide her worry. "Don't worry," Celine reassured, "they'll be fine."

_I hope your right about that…_ she thought, turning to look at the hallway again.

* * *

First off, **November Red Angel,** thank you for the review! I can say that you are the first person who has ever written such a big review for one of my stories! I'm extremely glad to hear that you're enjoying the story too! I've also played just about all of the PMD games – including Infinity Gates, which wasn't a _great_ game, but it also wasn't the worst either. It had a good plot… It was just…short... and well… I dunno, lacked a lot of things. Plus it was missing a few of my favorite mechanics (the ability to do multiple missions in the same dungeon, the hunger feature…) But oh well. Here's to praying that the game next isn't nearly as bad!

Also, the story _**might**_ get a lot darker. I won't know until I've begun writing those scenes, but there's a minor spoiler! And yeah, I love just about any of the cool fighting/fire-type pokémon. If they're four-legged then I just love them. Foxs, cats, dogs… I 3 them. XD

As for Darkrai, well, I have a lot of things planned for him… -evil grin-


	12. A Step Up

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 11: A Step Up

For the first time since she had arrived in the pokémon world, Celine finally had a restful night. It wasn't plagued with any of her reoccurring nightmares – no dark army or visions telling her the downfall of a friend's team.

She couldn't remember the last time she woke up feeling absolutely refreshed. She felt so good, in fact, that she was ready for the day's mission. For today, the job was to travel with Aiden to rescue a lost pokémon along the hills leading to Glade's Lake.

Celine figured that she must've woken up earlier than the rest of the team, as there was nobody in the kitchen. As if it was a daily routine she opened the fridge, grabbed a bowl of berries, and sat at the kitchen table to munch away happily.

As she ate though, her thoughts traveled to the previous nights events.

The visit was certainly unexpected, but it had ended the best way possibly. And the best part of it all? Their enemy was still unaware of their existence.

She was hoping to keep it that way for a while. She was pleased with the limited, but hopefully informative, meet ups that Aldous and Lizette planned. Hopefully the limited contact between them wouldn't capture the attention of their enemy.

She thought of the leader of Invincible Hope, Drexel. He didn't talk much, but he certainly looked real strong. Part of her knew that he wasn't done gathering strength either. The look in his eyes before he departed told her that he and his team were planning to become stronger and evolve to their limits. It was because of this determination that she knew they would become a force to be reckoned with.

Though she wouldn't admit it aloud, she was rather surprised by the change in attitude that Aldous displayed. He seemed to have an almost smug aura around him. He was proud and confident in his ability, which she could already figure. When she first saw him, she pegged him to be one of those cheerful, but easily disheartened kind of folks. When his cover was blown in the kitchen… well, needless to say, she no longer thought of him as some cheerful pokémon.

Then there was Fiona. From a first glance, Celine could already tell that Fiona was like her. Gentle and quiet, she didn't stand out too much, nor did she really throw herself out there. Heck, Celine wouldn't have believed that the small flower-like pokémon was apart of a rescue team. She just couldn't believe something so cute and tiny looking could go up against bigger, and potentially stronger, pokémon without much of a fuss. But she noticed how that the sense of danger didn't seem to matter much to her when she jumped to Drexel's defense when he was found out.

All and all, Drexel's team definitely fit in the "looks can be deceiving" category. While the team looked defenseless and adorable, they certainly could change that within a matter of minutes. Celine couldn't help but wonder what they were like during a mission. She found herself curious by the very thought of it!

"You're up early. Have a bad dream or something?" Startled, Celine jumped out of her seat. She blushed when she noticed it was just Aiden.

"Actually, I slept great!" she said proudly. "Not a single nightmare."

"That's good." Aiden walked over to her, snatched a berry from her bowl, and ate it. "Then I guess you went to bed in a good mood then."

She nodded eagerly. It was probably because they'd found out that Grovyle's theory was true. She no longer needed to worry about handling everything at once. The world's problems weren't on her shoulder, or really, they were, but just a _part_ of it. But even despite how big her problem seemed it was better than dealing with all three problems at once.

"One down, one more to go," she said.

"It was probably just the world's way of giving us a break. We've been hit with a lot of bad things lately." He stared off in the direction of the living room. "I don't know what they're responsible for, but if they can find and cure this endless sleep problem, it would be a big help."

"And a big up lifter for Jaxon," Celine noted, understanding that he was worried about Jaxon. She could only hope it was their mission.

Aiden shook his head with a sigh. "We've got to handle the Dark Army issues. Drexel, was it?" he paused, but continued after receiving a nod, "Drexel and his team handles the natural disasters or the dreams. What do you think?"

Celine shrugged. "Should we complete this one mission and look for leads on human turned pokémon instead?"

He shook his head. "No."

"But why?" she asked. She figured that it would be easier for them.

"Because Silver and Grovyle said that they would do it. It's not up to you to find the other team, Celine. We need to focus on the location of the stones and the threat of the Dark Army."

"I believe they really should enlist help from Jaxon," she murmured. "He can tell the difference."

The more she thought about it, the better it seemed to fit. Jaxon, as far as she was concerned, was the only pokémon who could really separate the human turned pokémon from the regular pokémon. She was fairly confident that with him on the job, the remaining team would soon be found.

Aiden didn't seem to share in this thought, however. Jaxon was just one pokémon. The enemies were boundless, and nobody knew just who was a spy for them, or where they could be hiding. Jaxon going alone would be a bad idea, he thought, as they would take that moment to either hurt him or worse.

"It's just not safe," Aiden said.

She frowned. "Silver and Grovyle can still go with him."

"Then who would stay and watch over Kalista?" Celine had forgotten all about the arcanine. "She can't be left alone, and Lizette just can't stay behind."

The fox-like girl tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Well, she _can._"

"Celine," Aiden warned, "She can't keep avoiding our missions. She _needs_ to train with us. She's apart of this team, apart of this-"

"I'm well aware of that," she interrupted. "My point is that while she stays home reading, she can use her breaks to check on Kalista. That gives Jaxon some time to go out with the others and search for clues."

She looked at him with pleading eyes. "We _need_ this, Aiden. The faster we look, the faster we-"

"I know, I know," he sighed. "I don't suppose we could ask the other team to help, can we?"

She shook her head apologetically.

Aiden wasn't surprised. Truthfully, he already knew the answer. "How about we talk to Grovyle about this when we get back?"

She grinned mischievously. "If I get hurt because of this, I blame you."

"Then don't get distracted," he countered with a chuckle.

-x-x-x-x-

\- Glade's Lake -

"Behind you!" Celine shouted, causing Aiden to spin around just in time to see a mightyena blasted away. He jumped back, bumping into Celine's back as they were quickly cornered.

Celine was growling at the pokémon surrounding them, her stick ignited and held in front of her threateningly. It was just their luck to end up in a monster house.

"A plan sometime today would be wonderful!" she shouted over the cries of the other pokémon.

"I'm working on it!" Aiden said, dodging a swipe from a machoke.

He grunted as several duduo pounded into him with their peck attacks. He could barely register Celine's sharp cries of pain as she was bombarded with a bunch of rocks. He couldn't reach her, however, as another machoke managed to grab him and begin choking him in a blind rage.

"G-get…off!" he choked, readying an aura sphere in one of his hands.

The grip around his neck vanished quickly. From the corner of his eyes he could see Celine with her ignited stick pointed in his direction. He was about to thank her when a bunch of anoriths pounced on her.

"Hang on Celine!" he shouted, fighting his way towards her.

It wasn't too soon after he called her name that there was a blast of pure heat engulfing the entire area. Aiden, along with a bunch of other pokémon, was knocked back from it.

He recovered quickly and turned back to the spot where Celine had been pounced on. She was on her knees, panting heavily. She looked utterly exhausted. She gave him a pained smile.

He was beside her within seconds. "What the heck did you just do?"

"O-overheat," she winced, "needed to get…the pests off somehow."

"Jeez, Celine," he exhaled, "I've told you before that's something you shouldn't do! It takes up too much of your energy."

She ignored him and got up slowly. She collapsed into his arms a second later and grinned at him weakly. "Hey, it took care of the pokémon in the area."

"Only for so long," he grumbled, ushering her towards an open path. "And this is why I said we need more practice. You are in terrible condition in terms of battleground standards."

Celine rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue at him. "Oh be quiet. It's better than what I did before."

He said nothing to that. She had a point. When she first tried fighting, she nearly got herself killed in the process. Still, he wondered if she was trying to give him a heart attack.

"Lizette needs this just as much as you," he grumbled unhappily. He could only _imagine_ how rusty that feline was.

"Oh quit your complaining," she sighed.

He shot her a look. "You're lucky that we aren't fighting the Dark Army right now. You'd be wiped out before you could do anything."

"Oh, thanks," she said, her voice low. "That _really_ boosts my spirits."

"Not my fault it's true," he argued. She rolled her eyes and ignored him.

They were only halfway through her mission. Despite how things looked now, they weren't like that in the earlier portions of the dungeon. Around the halfway mark the pokémon started becoming more aggressive and came in bigger packs. They seemed stronger too, unless Celine was just imagining it.

It was enough to make the fox-like girl alarmed. She was sure that Aiden was aware of it too.

She was about to ask if they were almost there when they heard a shrill scream for help. The two exchanged looks before Celine pushed herself off of Aiden and ran towards the screaming pokémon. Aiden followed closely behind her.

The pokémon calling for their help had been a child, a litleo, to be more precise. He was hanging off of a tree branch, trying desperately to get away from the angry zangoose beneath him.

"Stop right there!" Celine yelled when they found them.

The zangoose angrily turned its gaze to her and Aiden. He hissed and snarled at them warningly to back off. Aiden, in turn, snarled back. "I'll distract the weasel," he whispered, "you grab the kid and hide."

She gave a curt nod. Aiden charged forward, an aura sphere already to be hurled at the pokémon. The attack hit zangoose and sent him flying away from the tree. It gave out a shrill cry and launched itself back towards Aiden with its claws ready to strike.

Due to the speed of the pokémon, Aiden was unable to block the flurry of attacks that came after. He endured it, watching from the corner of his eye as Celine dashed towards the small pokémon.

The litleo cried out in surprise when a braxien appeared next to him on the same branch he was standing on. She shook her head, moving her fingers in front of her mouth. "Shh, it's alright. I'm not an enemy. I'm here to help you!"

He inched himself up against the bark of the tree, keeping a wary eye on her. He remained there until Aiden was slammed against the tree and caused the youngster to lose his balance. He jammed his eyes shut and waited for the pain to overwhelm him.

Instead, however, he felt a pair of warm arms grab him and the quick movement of air blowing in his face. He opened one eye and looked up at his savoir. The braxien was holding him!

Celine managed to catch the youngster and evade the sharp claws of the zangoose. Before the zangoose could attack her again, however, Aiden intervened and knocked the pokémon away.

She jumped behind one of the trees being obscured by a couple of large bushes. She lowered herself so she couldn't be seen before placing the youngster down. She smiled at him and whispered. "Don't move. We'll be right back."

The youngster could only nod and watch as she leaped out of the bush and in the direct path of one of zangoose's attacks.

"I thought you'd handle him by now!" she playfully mocked her friend.

"Oh shut up!" Aiden yelled back, shielding her from one of zangoose's flurry attacks with a pair of bones. "I thought you'd want a piece of the action first!"

"Oh how thoughtful!"

Summoning two more bones, Aiden went forward to bash the zangoose who evaded the attack easily. "So whose gonna strike the final blow?"

"I can do it," she smirked.

"Nah, I'll do it!" he said. "You already handled the monster house situation!"

"Fine, fine, fine, whatever. Less talking, more fighting!" she said, ramming the zangoose away. "I'll distract! You finish him off!"

With a nod of his head, Aiden jumped away from the fight. Celine made sure to defend him while he focused on creating a rather large aura sphere. After a moment of undisturbed focus, Aiden snapped his eyes open. They were glowing with a bluish glow as he shouted at Celine to move. With a thrust of his arms, the large aura sphere smacked itself right into the zangoose and sent it flying out of the small clearing.

Exhausted from using so much power, Aiden collapsed down to one knee. Celine was beside him in seconds. "You okay?"

He gave her a grateful smile. "Yeah. While I'm getting better with my aura skills, I still need to practice…"

"U-uh…excuse me…sir…and ma'am," squeaked a small voice.

Aiden and Celine both looked down to see the litleo kicking at the dirt with his paws, his head lowered. "T-thank you…"

"No problem," Celine smiled, lifting the child into her embrace. "We're glad to see that you weren't harmed. Just what were you doing here?"

"I was getting presents for mummy," he said with a sadden expression. "But then I got lost on the way home, and then that big meanie saw me and started attacking… I didn't do anything wrong, honest!"

Celine rubbed his head gently. "I know you didn't. Come on, let's get you back home to your parents."

-x-x-x-x-

They returned home without a hitch. Before dropping the youngster off with his parents, Aiden and Celine stopped by one of the flower shops in the shopping distract. There, the litleo child picked out some flowers for his mother. Happy that he was going to return home with a gift for his mother, he thanked the duo for their help.

To say that the parents were happy would've been an understatement. They were so grateful that they insisted that Aiden and Celine bring home a bag containing various berries and some pokémoney.

Aiden, feeling bad about it, attempted to decline the gracious gift, but the parents wouldn't hear any of it. Eventually, however, he gave up and said goodbye to the litleo and his parents.

As they walked towards their home, Aiden let out a sigh. Celine chuckled.

"It was adorable, wasn't it?" She was referring to the moment the child had given his mother the banquet of flowers.

Aiden agreed with a smile. "Wonder if they'll scold him at all."

"I'd certainly hope not." Celine frowned. "He wanted to give his mother a birthday present. Sure, he went a little far and got into some trouble, but he returned home safe and sound."

He shrugged, not worrying himself over it. Celine leaned against him. "Today was fun."

"It was, but I still-"

"Oh, drop it, will you? Enjoy this peaceful moment." She smiled at his grimace. "You're a stick in the mud."

He wasn't amused. "We're facing against forces that are-" She brought a finger up to his mouth and stopped him. She was tired and she wanted nothing more than to enjoy a peaceful walk home with him.

Getting the hint, he stopped himself from talking. A blush enlightened his face when he felt her wrap a paw around his. Feeling a little more comfortable about it this time around, he grasped it and held onto her hand tightly.

They remained that way until they returned home.

The house was silent, much to Aiden's suspicions, but when he saw Lizette come out from the kitchen he let out a sigh of relief.

Hearing his sigh, the feline turned. "Oh, you guys are back! How was the mission?"

Celine gave her a thumbs up.

"Great!" she said. She paused, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "So I take it you two are in a good mood?"

"Um…yes?"

"Then maybe I should save this bit of info until you guys aren't."

Aiden didn't like the sound of that. And neither did Celine. The two exchanged looks of worry, and then looked back at the feline who only chuckled. "It's nothing bad. Actually, it's wonderful news!"

"Kalista woke up?"

Lizette stared at Aiden with a flat look. Celine chuckled and elbowed him. "No, dummy, she means that she found something on the stones."

"Oh."

Ignoring his brief moment of stupidity, she continued, "I found out where they're hiding. It's in a place called Sparkling Grove. There's only one problem," she paused, wondering if she had made the right decisions in telling her teammates. "…nobody knows where it is."

"_Nobody_?" Aiden nearly screeched.

"I asked around town!" she said, holding her hands up defensively. "Nobodies ever heard of it. Not even the books have anything one it."

"You already finished those?" Celine asked in surprise.

Lizette nodded with a frown. "I asked Aldous to see if there was anything concerning a 'Sparkling Grove' in his hometown. He told me it might take a couple of days before he can get back to me."

_Well, there goes my plan for earlier,_ thought Celine. Aiden, having sensed her thoughts, slumped his shoulders in defeat. Part of him had hoped she would forget that after the day's events.

"Is everyone in the living room?" he asked.

Lizette shook her head and pointed towards one of the guest rooms. "Silver and Grovyle were talking about some places they could check for any new teams. Jaxon, well…" she paused. She didn't need to say where he was. It was already obvious.

Aiden made a signal with his hand. "Get them and tell them to come into the living room. We need to talk."

She looked confused and Celine was giving him a puzzled look. Was he actually considering telling the others her idea? Still curious about what he was going to say, Lizette walked off towards Grovyle and Silver's room.

"What are you going to say?" Celine inquired.

"What you said before makes sense," he replied, "Jaxon should be with Silver and Grovyle searching for the last human. Grovyle and Silver don't have the ability that he has. We can't dawdle and wait for them to show up. With Jaxon, they can find them quicker."

Celine furrowed her eyebrows questioningly. "But I thought you said that Lizette needed to come with us?"

"I still think that," he said, "but when Aldous gets back to her about that book, she'll be here. During that time she can stay here and watch over Kalista while Jaxon goes with them. In the meantime, she'll be coming with us to complete missions. That way we kill two birds with one stone. Plus, it just makes more sense that way."

She felt her heart swelling with happiness. She didn't think he would consider her thoughts at all, but here he was showing and preparing for what she'd been thinking. It made her happy.

Grovyle, Silver, and Lizette were in the living room within minutes. Jaxon looked at all of them confusedly.

Aiden stood, clearing his throat. "I thought we should make an adjustment to our plans."

He told them about the idea that Celine suggested and what he believed they should do. Before any of them could interrupt him, he told them that Lizette would watch over Kalista while Jaxon was out with Silver and Grovyle. He suggested that Lizette take up her reading in the living room, and when taking breaks, occasionally check up on Kalista. But he made sure to clarify that would only go into affect when Aldous got back to her concerning the books she was looking for.

At first the others didn't know what to make of it, but eventually they understood why the changes were needed. Jaxon, having understood quickly why he was being changed, proudly announced that he would gladly take it.

Shortly after his announcement, Grovyle and Silver agreed with the plan. Neither had thought as far as how to separate who was a regular, newly born pokémon team from one that contained a human turned pokémon among their ranks.

Lizette was the longest to convince. She repeatedly argued with Aiden that she couldn't focus on two jobs at once. It wasn't until Celine explained that Lizette would only have to check during her breaks that Lizette came around.

Celine was extremely happy that everyone liked her plan. Each one had agreed that finding the last team containing a human turned pokémon was of the essence.

-x-x-x-x-

Vivian rested in the back of her cell, far away from the one containing her friend and leader. It took everything in her not to break down the moment she saw what they had done to her beloved friend. Heck, it was still hard not to break down.

She ignored the taunts from Team Poisonix about how her friend was converted. They would taunt her with: "She's gonna kill you!", "You're gonna be next!", or "You'll never be able to break her free now!"

What made it all worse were her nightmares. She was constantly being forced to face up against her friend. It was a kill or be killed situation, and she wanted nothing to do with it. She always woke up sweating and teary eyed.

Hearing the familiar snickers of Gothitelle, Seviper, and Banette, she didn't bother to move much. She turned her head away from the cell door just as they came into view range.

"Aww, what's the matter?" Gothitelle taunted. "What happened to all those boasts of getting out of here?"

"Heh, she has no way of escaping!" Banette chimed in. "And even if she did, she couldn't save her own partner!"

Vivian held back her tears. Those words stung more than anything. She could handle them taunting her any other way, but when they brought up Annabelle…it became difficult.

Seviper was next to join the fray. "I guess foxy has her tongue tied!"

"I think we ought to tell Icy to find the rest of Team PokéStars and get rid of them!"

With a burst of fury, she roared at them. They all jumped away from the cell bars in fear. She glared at them with her teeth showing. Oh how tearing them apart sounded _so_ pleasant right about now!

"You losers wouldn't stand a chance," she hissed. "You may have captured me and Annabelle, but you have no _true_ power. If you think our team is weak, then you have another thing coming."

"But go ahead and _try_," she snickered. "Boast all you like. When it comes to _real_ power, your on the short end of the stick!"

Offended, Seviper retaliated. "Real power? Ha! That _real power_ gotcha far, didn't it?"

"Y-yeah!" Banette taunted. "If they're chumps like you, then we have nothing to worry about!"

They were unsettled by the evil smile that spread across the fox-like pokémons face. "What you tasted is only a _mere_ fraction."

Stalking back to her corner of the cell, Vivian ignored any further taunts the trio attempted to throw at her.

Banette and Seviper were the only two to continue the taunting. Gothitelle simply watched the vixen pokémon. She'd heard countless story of the vulpix and eevee that saved their future. She found it hard that such young pokémon were capable of stopping the crippled mind of Dialga.

In fact, she'd only been a wee gothita when word of their adventures and sacrifice reached her hometown. It inspired her to make her own team. She wanted to be just like them.

She shook her head. Those memories of wanting to be like them were futile. Both of the highly esteemed leaders were in their cells, _captured._ What made them so strong anyway?

"C'mon," she snapped, storming away from the cells. The anger in her tone startled her two teammates. They were confused on why she seemed to be so angry, but they didn't ask. Instead they just followed.

Vivian raised her head when they were gone. Her shoulders slumped and her frown returned. She rested her head back on her paws and jammed her eyes shut. She squeezed them harder when pictures of a discolored leafeon entered the cell that her friend had once been holed up in.

And for the first time since she'd been there, she cried.


	13. Fighting In The Dark

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 12: Fighting In The Dark

"Wakey-wakey!" came Lizette's voice, startling Celine out of her sleep.

"Whozza dat?" Celine murmured groggily as she searched the room until her eyes landed on Lizette. Lizette was grinning eagerly with all her exploration gear on. "Whatcha doing?"

"It's time to get up!" Lizette pouted. "It's nearly the afternoon, and we have a mission!"

Upon hearing that it was the afternoon, Celine shot up. "It's the afternoon?!" she squealed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Why the heck didn't anyone wake me?"

"We tried," Lizette said. "You said something about needing to find two towers."

Celine stared at her. "Huh?"

"You don't remember?" Lizette was surprised, then the surprise vanished as a thoughtful expression appeared. "Oh, I see. You were sleep talking."

Lizette rambled away, but Celine didn't hear. She was too focused on what she had apparently mumbled. Two towers? She certainly didn't remember dreaming of any towers. She thought about disregarding it, but at the same time there was something nagging her about it in the back of her mind.

Her face scrunched up in worry. _Was_ it something important? It bothered her that she couldn't figure that bit out. It must've been because she was usually a light sleeper and woke up with no problem, yet here Lizette was telling her the opposite!

Lizette must've noticed the worried look because she stopped talking. "Cel?"

"Huh?" Celine asked, startled out of her thoughts. "Did I miss something?"

"You were day dreaming. You alright?"

Celine shrugged. Physically she felt fine, but mentally… she just couldn't shake off what Lizette told her. "I don't remember anything about my dream. Not even about those towers I was supposedly searching for."

"No surprise there." Lizette shrugged. "Usually nobody remembers what they dreamt about after waking up."

"I do," Celine said flatly, all the memories of seeing the Dark Army coming back.

"Well, _besides_ precognitions, I mean," Lizette corrected.

It still didn't ease the fox-like pokémon up a bit. Lizette gently slapped her on the back and gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry too much about it, okay? If it's really important you'll have another dream about it."

"Yeah, you're right," Celine murmured, finally giving in. With a stretch she asked, "So what's todays mission?"

Lizette jumped out of her bed and posed proudly. "Today we have two missions in a cave known as Illst Hollows. One is searching for a lost item, the other is bringing in a small-time criminal."

"Criminal?" Celine quirked an eyebrow - this was a new type of mission. "We're apprehending a criminal?"

She nodded and took out wanted poster from her bag. "He doesn't look that strong. Aiden said he'd have no chance against us. Searching for the item should be the real challenge."

"You act as if apprehending a criminal is normal," Celine noted, still uncomfortable with the idea.

"It is," Lizette said, lowering the wanted poster. "Rescue teams and even Exploration teams, but mostly Rescue teams, usually have a hand in capturing a criminal. And since there's so much chaos going on, the police force is having a difficult time keeping up. So they've enlisted help through the headquarters. I thought you knew that?"

"Well, I only _assumed_," she murmured. "Rescue teams would obviously rescue and obtain lost items while Exploration teams just…explore."

Lizette shook her head. "Nope."

Celine was not happy in the least. _You'd think after yesterday's performance, he wouldn't have even _thought_ about accepting a job like this. _"So, where is Aiden and when are we going?"

"Aiden went to his hideout." Lizette rolled her eyes. "Said that he needed to 'focus on his aura training."

She only felt her eyebrow twitch angrily. _Again, _why_ did he accept this job?!_ She let out a wearily sigh. This was going to be one heck of a day…

-x-x-x-x-

Celine and Lizette quietly approached the clearing. It was the same one that Aiden usually went to relax or train. For Celine, it was the place they first met.

They saw him with his back to them. He was standing on one leg with his hands in front of him. His ears were extended, a usual sign that indicated that he was using his aura abilities to scan the area.

"Should I talk to him?" Lizette whispered. Celine shook her head.

"No, leave him be."

The pair sat quietly underneath the tree. Lizette was looking all around her, enjoying the scenery of the place. Celine watched Aiden while wondering when he was going to notice them being there.

What they didn't know was that he knew that they were there. He had picked up their aura signatures about 30 feet away. But he said nothing. He wanted to expand past that 30 feet radius.

After remaining in that position for a half an hour, he moved. Opening his eyes and releasing his focus, he turned to see the two females. Lizette was nodding off beside Celine. Celine, noticing that Aiden had come out of his focused state, smiled warmly.

"How are you?" he asked.

"I take it your asking about this morning?" she asked.

He nodded.

"I'm…fine," she said after a moment, "I'm just puzzled about why I don't remember a thing about saying or dreaming about towers. What about you?"

He shrugged. "I've extended my aura reading radius. I'm still confused on how that pokémon managed to evade my aura readings. I've been practicing every night and it's in top-notch condition."

"Don't over do it," she frowned. "Otherwise you'll make me worry more."

He chuckled and hugged her. "I'm fine, don't worry."

"I wish I wouldn't, but I can't help it," she countered with a smirk. That smirk soon faded as she pulled out the wanted poster from Lizette's bag. She could already see the guilty look Aiden was trying to hide. "Care to explain?"

"I thought it might be a nice change of pace," he admitted sheepishly.

She shook her head despondently. "Aiden…"

"What?"

"After yesterday," she reminded him, "do you _really_ believe we can do that?"

"You handled a monster house just fine." He folded his arms, not seeing her point. "It wasn't that you were unused to it, it was more like you used too much power. The same went for me. We just need to be more resourceful of our strength, is all."

Her frown only deepened. He let out an audible breath and shook his head. "If I didn't feel we were ready, I wouldn't have picked this mission."

"And what about her?" Celine nodded towards Lizette. "She has hardly any battle experience. She may seem excited, but when she's in the actual fight she might freeze up again."

He gave her a deadpanned look. She scowled, giving him a look that told him not to give her that look. He shook his head again and stood up straight. "Then we'll keep an eye on her and stay by her."

Celine still didn't look convinced.

"This is why she needs to come with us," he stated, "so she can practice and get stronger. That way she won't feel so threatened."

"Your saying that like she'll get over it just like that. She's not a fighter like us, Aiden. She reads books and avoids fights. She's been afraid to do that for years, and she's just getting over her fear now."

"Then what do you want me to do? Revoke the mission?" he snapped.

She flinched. "I...I don't know!" She looked back at Lizette. "I just…don't want her to get hurt."

"She has us," he reassured. "She'll be fine. Plus, if she does freeze up I'll just give her a gentle reminder that she was excited for the mission and insisted on joining."

Celine raised an eyebrow at him. His use of 'gentle' was completely different than that of hers. But she didn't bother to continue the conversation. She'd warn him if he overstepped the boundaries.

"Are we ready?" Lizette murmured, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Yeah."

The cat-like pokémon wasted no time. She stretched, adjusted her bag, and jumped to her feet with a big grin on her face. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement as she examined her two teammates. "Let's go kick some criminal booty!"

-x-x-x-x-

The mission wasn't nearly as bad as Celine thought it would be. Illst Hollows was huge; its walls were encrusted with gems of various colors and shapes, and there were multiple passageways that often ended up as dead ends. It was beautiful, but it was especially beautiful whenever the light off of Lizette's lamp hit the gems. They would sparkle, making the cave all the more beautiful.

"Wonder why a criminal would want to hide here?" Lizette thought aloud.

"Maybe they wanted to experience the beauty of it before they were captured?" Celine suggested. She knew that if she were a criminal, this would be one of the last spots she would go.

"Beauty shouldn't be a criminals top priory." Aiden walked ahead of them, using his aura abilities to sense ahead of them. "If they were a real criminal, then they'd be more focused along the point of hiding really well."

Celine shrugged. "Well, at least the item wasn't hard to find."

"It wasn't even in that far," Lizette grumbled angrily. "I bet you that the owner dropped it when they got spooked and didn't have a spine to come back in for it. So they had us do it."

Celine found herself frowning. Would that mean that the second half of their mission would be difficult? She certainly hoped not. Not after yesterday.

She examined her teammates. Aiden was a terrific fighter who constantly pushed himself. He thought he wasn't strong, but in reality, he was probably the strongest of the team. As for Lizette, neither Aiden nor Celine could figure just exactly how strong the feline pokémon was. She already made it known she hardly ever fought. And then Celine thought of herself.

As far as she could tell, she was neither a great fighter nor a bad fighter. She was somewhere in the middle. She wasn't nearly as powerful as Aiden, but she was near his power levels. She would probably become stronger, but it would take a great deal of time and practice – something that she already planned for the next few weeks.

The more she thought about her team as a whole, the more confident she became. Aiden was right; they'd only exhausted themselves from using too much power yesterday. The enemies had been unbelievably stronger there, plus they'd come in herds. But here they only faced a single pokémon every now and then.

She smiled at the thought. They had nothing to worry about!

Almost immediately after thinking that, the cave began shaking violently. She heard Aiden and Lizette let out a small cry or a gasp of shock. During the tremors, Lizette had dropped their lamp, effectively snuffing out their light source. "Oh dang it!"

"Get low to the ground!" Celine ordered. "Don't worry so much about the light; just be more wary of the falling rocks!"

"Kekek," a sinister voice cackled, startling the three pokémon, "Instead of worrying about others, you should be more worried about yourself!"

Suddenly Celine felt sharp pains in her side and on her back. She let out a shrill cry as she was knocked down. She quickly grabbed the stick out of her tail and whipped it around, briefly catching a glimpse of the perpetrator: Gengar.

"Aiden! Lizette! Be careful, it's-" Celine felt something slam her against the cold, stone wall and tighten around her neck. She clawed at the hands and at the face of whoever was holding her hostage, but to no avail.

With a cry of her name, Aiden spun around and attacked the ghost-type pokémon. She fell to the ground, gently grabbing her own throat and coughing, eagerly sucking in the air to her deprived lungs.

Despite having the power to see the pokémons aura signature, Aiden was unable to capture the pokémon. He vanished from his sight, reappearing behind a confused Lizette. Feeling a pair of arms grabbing her, she shrieked. "H-help! Get off of me you… you…!"

Celine felt Aiden pull her up from the ground. She pushed him away. "Forget about me," she said, "help Lizette!"

She didn't need to tell Aiden twice. Using his aura abilities, he went after the gengar. After noticing that his punch phased through the pokémon, he realized just how ineffective his moves were. It was a ghost type pokémon!

The gengar, angry that Aiden attempted to hit him, tossed the feline aside and attacked him. Aiden was able to avoid each swipe easily, but found that most of his attacks weren't doing him any good. "He's a ghost type! I can't hit him!"

"Celine, light this place up!" Lizette shouted.

Following the meowstics instructions, Celine pulled out her stick and ignited it. Unfortunately, it hadn't lit up the room enough. Deciding that she needed more light, several bluish-white flames surrounded her. They expanded far enough for the trio to see whom they were up against.

Gengar didn't like that at all. Having found that his sneak attacks were easily read now, he aimed for Celine. But just as he was about to attack her, a shadowy blob narrowly missed him. From the corner of his eyes he noticed that Lizette was smirking with another shadow ball building up between her hands.

"That was just a warning shot," she informed him, her tone saying that she wasn't joking, "next time I won't miss. If you know what's good for you, you'll come with us quietly."

"That was a rather poor performance," he snickered.

"Well, when your disorientated," Celine defended, "things tend to get out of whack. Especially after an earthquake."

He rolled his eyes. "Even if you somehow managed to capture me, how do you plan on getting out?"

Aiden snarled. "What do you mean?"

Gengar chuckled. "Remember when you lot were commenting on how nice the place is? Well, it's also known for its cave-ins. Unless you have another way out, you're stuck in here!"

Lizette and Celine exchanged worried looks, but Aiden would have nothing of it. He stormed up, grabbed the pokémon, and brought him face-to-face. "Then why the heck did you come in here?"

"Because," the gengar chuckled, "I can phase right out!"

Without warning, the ghost-type pokémon vanished from Aiden's grasp and reappeared behind him, punching him. While Aiden attempted to re-obtain his balance, Gengar moved to attack Celine. However, she had predicated his next attack and dove out of the way just in time.

Lizette sighed and shook her head. "Should've listened," she murmured. The shadowy blob vanished and she closed her eyes, focusing on using her telekinesis to locate the pokémon and grab him.

He was in the middle of attacking Celine when he found himself lifted off the ground. Aiden and Celine both watched as he was slammed against the wall before being bombarded with shadow balls, creating a cloud of dust.

When the cloud of dust disappeared, Celine and Aiden gapped surprisingly at the unconscious form of Gengar. Celine shot the meowstic a stunned look. "Since when did you become a good fighter?"

"I'm not," she said shyly, "I… just read about fighting technics and followed them."

"And here I was worried about you," Aiden exhaled, rubbing the back of his head.

The cat-like pokémon smiled happily. "I told you guys that there was nothing to worry about. After my last experience, I started looking for books on how to fight effectively. I was determined to make sure that I would never repeat those mistakes again. I wanted to make you guys proud."

"I think it's safe to say you did more than make us proud," Celine smiled.

Aiden didn't look convinced and folded his arms. "One minute you have no idea how to fight, the next you're seemingly good at it?"

"I told you I applied what I learned from reading a book on how to fight!" Lizette huffed. "And since I'm a psychic-type pokémon, it's not like I have to worry about close combat. I'll leave that to you two. All I need to do is keep my distance and I can attack using my psychic powers!"

Celine put her hands on his shoulders. "Don't worry too much about it. We did what we came here to do."

"You're forgetting something," he grumbled, eying her from the corner of his eye. She looked puzzled. "How do we get out?"

"Why not use the badges?" Lizette suggested. "I read somewhere that there's a force inside the badge that allows one to teleport out of a mystery dungeon."

Aiden's ears fell as he gave a dumbfounded expression. "I knew that."

"I'm sure you did," Celine chuckled, grabbing the unconscious gengar and walked towards the feline pokémon. Once Aiden walked over the trio raised their team badge in the air, they felt an unseen force wrap around them. In the blink of an eye, the group appeared outside of the cave.

And it was just as gengar said – a pile of rocks blocked the entrance to Illst Hollows.

Lizette smirked at Aiden and folded her arms triumphantly. He grumbled and walked ahead. Celine and Lizette followed after him, but not without laughing at his grumpy expression.

-x-x-x-x-

"Well, that was an exciting day!" Lizette announced proudly in front of their base.

"It wasn't a bad day at all," Celine agreed whole-heartedly. "The only problem we really had was Gengar's attacks."

Aiden grumbled. "Next time Headquarters better give us a better description _of_ the pokémon they send us to capture…"

Celine rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Lizzzzyyyy!" Aldous' cry echoed around the area. Lizette turned just in time to be pounced on. Aldous hugged her tightly with a big smile on his face. "I missed you~"

"G-get off!" Lizette hissed, shoving him off of her. She glared at him disapprovingly.

He just smiled, unaffected by her disapproving glare. Behind him were Drexel and Fiona, the latter waving and smiling at Aiden and Celine. Drexel crossed his arms and looked away, seemingly bored.

"What are you guys doing here?" Celine asked, baffled. "I thought that we-"

"We had to come," Aldous frowned. "I have some news that I think all of you need to hear."

Aiden and Celine exchanged looks. "News?"

"Oh," he murmured, lowering his gaze when he noticed that Grovyle and Silver were coming out of the base. "We also had a visitor. And she insisted that we take her to you guys."

"A visitor?" Grovyle inquired, having only heard part of the conversation.

Aldous nodded and groaned when a high-pitched squeal filled the air. Grovyle went rigid, instantly recognizing the voice.

"My sweet Grovyle!"


	14. Raised Tensions

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 13: Raised Tensions

_Oh no… _Grovyle thought, looking up into the sky. Almost immediately he was tackled by a shiny celebi. She nuzzled her face against his happily. "My dear Grovyle! How I've missed you!"

Celine, Aiden, and Lizette would only stare on in confusion. How did Grovyle know this shiny celebi?

Silver didn't look the least bit surprised. Instead, he smiled with a shake of his head. "Celebi," he greeted warmly, "it's been a while."

She lifted her head and beamed upon seeing Silver. "Silver!"

She floated over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Oh, it's been too long my friend! Whatever happened to you?"

"An unfortunate accident," he frowned. "We got ambushed on one of our missions. They got us real good."

She looked around. "Where are Anna and Vivi? I was hoping to see the cute little bundles of fur balls!"

Grovyle looked away sullenly. Celebi noticed this, her smile fading quickly. "My dear Grovyle? What happened?"

"Um," Celine said, raising her voice, "does _anyone_ mind telling us what's going on here?"

Celebi tilted her head in fascination when she saw the braixen. She flew around her and examined her carefully. "So _you're the_ new girl in town, eh?"

"Huh?"

The shiny celebi giggled as she floated back over to Silver and sat on his head contently. "A dear friend of mine, Zoroark, informed me that there was another human called down from above."

"You know Zoroark?!" all of team Cosmic shouted in unison.

She was surprised by this outburst, but nodded.

Grovyle went back into the base. Silver watched him and shook his head. Celebi frowned. "Is my visit that unpleasant?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "He's just had it rough. It's probably best we take this conversation inside."

Aiden agreed. "Are you guys joining us?" he asked, looking over to Drexel and his team.

Drexel nodded. Aldous smiled, grabbed Lizette's hand and ran into the base. All the while the female feline blushed furiously. Fiona and Drexel followed in tow, with Aiden and Celine following closely behind.

They all entered the living room. Celebi was floating over the sleeping form of Kalista with a frown. Jaxon, meanwhile, was staring at the legendary pokémon with his mouth wide open and his eyes wide and unbelieving.

She placed her hand on Kalista's fur and closed her eyes.

"What's it doing?" Jaxon asked, quickly becoming defensive of his friend.

"_She's_ probably trying to heal her," Silver answered. "Celebi, I don't think that'll work."

She shook her head and floated away guiltily. "Something is terribly wrong. I wonder if it has anything to do with those two towers and the strangeness I've been feeling."

"Towers?" Celine perked up.

The legendary pokémon nodded with a frown. "That's actually why I came here. What's been going on here has begun affecting the future, and not in a good way. It's almost like…" she paused, watching as the horror grew on Grovyle's face.

"No!" he shouted. "That's impossible! We prevented that!"

"I know you did," she replied, "but this is from a different problem. The Dark Army has grown, practically taking over the world. The earth tremors have destroyed almost all of the landmasses, and countless pokémon are lost each day because of the sleeping curse."

Drexel seemed alarmed by this. "Wait, are you telling us that we _failed_?"

Celebi shrugged. "More along the lines of not finding the places you were meant to go most likely. I'm not entirely sure. When things started changing, I had to come and investigate it.

"I'm telling you right now that's honestly not reassuring," Celine said.

"Didn't you mention something about towers earlier?" Fiona inquired, sneaking a glance towards her leader.

The legendary pokémon nodded grimly. "The towers of Geoma and Spirals, if I recall correctly. I don't remember much, but I do believe that one houses the balance of the world and the other houses the cycle of our dreams. If either of these are disturbed, then… well… you can see for yourself."

Everyone looked grim - especially Grovyle. He was scowling at the very thought of the future being changed and in a bad way. Besides Drexel and Celine, everyone was just looking at each other, waiting for someone to come up with a good idea.

Celebi watched the two hybrid pokémon. Both were staring off into space, their minds elsewhere. "Have either of you had the dream yet?"

"I…believe I did." Celine looked uncertain of herself. "But I don't remember much about it. I don't recall having a dream about towers or anything, but my friends told me that I was mumbling something about the towers."

"I remember _seeing_ a tower," Drexel said. "And I remember seeing this…cracked orb."

Celebi looked between the two. It was troubling news to hear only one of them remembered having a dream about the towers. Her gaze settled on Drexel. "Did the tower have color to it do you remember?"

"Yes," he nodded. "Blue, red, and green."

"Water, fire, and earth," she murmured. "The Tower of Geoma." She looked uncertainly over to Celine. "And you say you don't remember anything?"

Celine lowered her gaze regretfully. It was evident that the fox-like pokémon was upset about it. Aiden stood in front of her defensively. "She has enough on her plate with dealing with the nightmares of the Dark Army."

Now the legendary pokémon was more than confused. How was it possible that one had the dream of the Tower of Geoma, but the other has no recollection of the Tower of Spirals? It made the tiny pokémons head hurt.

Celebi floated around Celine and then back over to Silver where she sat on his head. She shook her head dejectedly. "If you're handling the Dark Army and he's handling the Tower of Geoma, then who is handling the Tower of Spirals?"

Everyone was exchanging uncertain looks with each other. Seeing this made the small legendary pokémons heart sink. This wasn't good at all. If things kept going like this, then their dark future would become certain for sure!

"I don't think you're aware of this," Grovyle said, capturing her attention, "but three human turned pokémon were called. There's only two here with us now."

"Three?" Celebi looked amazed. "I've heard of there being two humans called down at once, but three? Where is this third one? Have you found him or her? Do you have-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Grovyle said lifting his hands up to stop her. "One question at a time, Celebi. We're not sure of where this third one is. We've recently started searching. In fact, we had a plan."

He quirked his eyebrow in the direction of the male meowstic. He looked confused for a moment, but immediately realized what he was getting at.

He cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention. "I found a map with the location of Sparkling Grove, but it's far away from here. At best, it would be a four day trip."

"A four day trip?" Lizette grimaced.

He nodded sorrowfully. "We could go now, but…" He looked to his teammates. "We came to the conclusion that we should probably hold off of that exploration. We feel that it's our upmost priority to find this last human and combine forces."

Aiden folded his arms. Celine could tell, from the look on his face, that he was not fond of that idea. "But what about making ourselves stronger in the meantime?"

"It won't make a difference if we never find the other human," Drexel countered, mirroring the fighting/steel-types stance. "This isn't just a twosome job. We need the other one."

"And what good will it do us if we aren't strong enough to face off against the enemy?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Drexel sneered. "Don't worry, _Rambo_, you'll get your shot later. We need to focus our resources into finding that last human."

"Excuse me?" Aiden nearly yelled.

Celine and Fiona jumped in between the two. "That's enough!"

Aiden glared at Celine. "Move,"

She stared right back at him. She was giving him a look that told him to settle down, but he only narrowed his eyes further.

With a frown Celine pulled the stick from her tail and pointed it at him warningly. "Please don't make me fight you," she said, her tone sharp. "Being narrow minded about this won't help our case at all."

"Yes, please, calm down!" Lizette piped in, running over to the braixen's side.

An almost similar scene was taking place between Fiona, Drexel, and Aldous. Not much was being said physically, but they were talking through expressions and stances. Fiona was looking at her leader with pleading eyes, telling him to relax and calm down.

In turn he only eyed her, then Aiden, before turning away with a scowl. The floette let out a sigh, her shoulders slumping from relief.

But that moment of peace only lasted so long.

"Coward," Drexel grumbled under his breath.

"Your dead!" Aiden yelled, pouncing towards him.

Celine intervened and shoved him away before he could even reach Drexel. She growled at him warningly. "Aiden, I'm not kidding! Don't make me knock you out!"

"Drexel stop provoking him!" Aldous scolded, glaring at him disapprovingly.

While tension built up between the two males, everyone else who wasn't apart of the fight only watched in shock.

Celebi kept looking between the two pokémon, briefly wondering if this was normal.

Aiden growled, but didn't attack. Instead, he left the living room. Celine sighed, releasing the breath she hadn't known she held. Lizette looked up her worriedly, and then back to Aldous who frowned in her direction.

"Was it necessary to provoke him?" Celine asked, glaring at Drexel from the corner of her eyes.

"It's not my fault he wanted to jump the gun." Drexel folded his arms.

She didn't like his answer one bit. Her eyes narrowed as she spun around and stormed towards him. Fiona was about to intervene, but Lizette prevented her.

Upon reaching him, Celine slapped him as hard as she could. The force was enough to make him stumble back a few steps. He stared in her direction in disbelief. He took a moment to gather himself before glaring at her. "What the heck?"

She was unfazed by his glare. "You provoking things isn't helping the matter a single bit," she growled. "Why do you think he wants to help us grow stronger?"

"We're strong enough to handle whatever comes at us for now!"

"Are we?" she yelled back, her voice rising as her anger grew. "What if they send in someone who is stronger than all of us combined? We'll get knocked around before pokémon are either killed or kidnapped to be tortured! Is that what you want to put your team through? Do you seriously want to watch the enemy, as they're stomping on you, torture those you love right before you very own eyes? That's why Aiden is so eager to continue practicing! He doesn't want us to be overpowered! We wants us to be strong enough so that nothing can surprise us, or tear us down!"

Her outburst silenced the frogadier. He kept his glaring eyes locked on her. She didn't care. She stared back just as hard. He could grind his teeth and glare at her all he wanted, but she would remain unmoved.

Lizette approached her and placed a hand on her leg. The feline was so unused to seeing the fire-type angry like this. She's only seen her this angry once, and it was after she evolved. "Cel, calm down…"

The braixen could see Lizette's mildly frightened stare from the corner of her eyes. She took in a deep breath and released it, allowing her shoulders to slump as well.

"Sorry," she finally whispered, partially guilty for frightening her friend.

"No, we should be sorry," Aldous said, glaring at his leader unhappily. "_Someone_ is just _cranky_ because he didn't get much sleep. We knew he was agitated, but we didn't think he would snap at anyone."

What followed was silence. Nobody dared to make a move or even speak for fear that the aggression would be turned onto them.

Celebi looked around hopelessly. Just how long did everyone plan to waste time? Apparently she wasn't the only one thinking this. Jaxon was glaring at everyone. Eventually, he jumped out into the middle room.

"Silver, Grovyle," he said, grabbing the two pokémons attentions, "Are you ready?"

The two looked at each other, both wondering if the other knew what Jaxon was talking about. This reaction caused the mouse-like pokémon to frown.

He pointed to the door with his tail. "To begin our search," he answered as if it were the most logical answer. "The longer we sit here and argue, the longer it'll take to find the other human. Sitting here and doing nothing is getting nothing done."

He looked over to Celebi. "I'm going to assume that somewhere along the lines we wasted precious time – time we could have used to either get stronger, or find the other human. Right now we need to find the other human so we can make our forces as a whole stronger."

"That's right!" she beamed, floating over to him. "I'm sure all of you are strong enough to take the challenges that you will face at the two towers."

Lizette shook her head. "Not all of us."

"What do you mean?"

"Our team – Team Cosmic – doesn't appear to have a job at these towers you mentioned. Celine has been getting nightmares of the Dark Army. Not once has she mentioned seeing anything that Drexel has. She _mumbled_ it, but she doesn't remember the dream. So I don't believe she has a job at these towers. How would you know who is allowed to enter those towers anyway?"

Celebi looked towards the window in a thoughtful manner. She clapped her hands together in a moment of realization.

"There _was_ something I forgot to mention!" she exclaimed. "I couldn't enter either tower because I'm not one of the 'chosen.' And I bet that Drexel and this other human are those chosen as they're probably the only two who's had the dream surrounding these towers."

"All the more reason why we should go out and look for this other human," Jaxon said. "Plus, if we find them, then we could go to Sparkling Grove, get the stones, and then tread towards these towers."

Lizette and Celine looked at each other. Both knew that Aiden would want to spend his time practicing and training.

"Not all of us can go," Lizette said. "Not only do we know that Aiden would rather want to spend his time training, but it would look awfully suspicious if the enemy is watching us and noticed that all of us were walking around looking for something."

"And don't even make a snide comment," Celine warned, glaring at Drexel.

Lizette continued with her reasoning's. "Plus, the enemy is aware of us. They know that Team Cosmic is currently the only team who has a human leader. They don't know about Team Invincible yet. Also, I'm not sure if they are aware that members of Team PokéStars survived that ambush. Personally I don't think it matters either way if they found that they did, but they aren't aware of what happened to Kalista. To sum up what I'm saying: we need to be careful on how we approach this without gaining too much of the enemies' suspicion."

"So then what we do?" Jaxon asked.

She looked away, leaning against the palm of her hand as she thought. Her eyebrows knitted together. "It's probably best we stick to the same plan."

Pausing, she looked over to Celebi. "How long do you plan on staying?"

"I'm not sure, why?"

"You see, I have little to no experience in the battlefield," she rubbed her hands together nervously. "And the original plan was that while Aldous was out looking for information, Jaxon would go with Grovyle and Silver in search of the other human. I would stay behind and watch over Kalista. But if you plan on staying a while, then I can go out with my team and get a little more battle experience. That is, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all!" Celebi chirped happily. She flew over to Kalista and sat on top of the couch.

"What about us?" Fiona asked worriedly. "I understand if you don't want us to help anymore-"

"No, we need you." Lizette smiled reassuring. "Aiden and Drexel can work their problems later, but right now those problems shouldn't interfere with our mission. But Aiden does have a point. We should work on getting stronger so that if an enemy does happen pop up, we don't have worry about losing. It can't hurt to practice more."

Aldous nodded with a smile, fully agreeing with her plan. He tilted his head to the side. "It won't be too much of a burden on you, will it?" he asked Jaxon, Silver, and Grovyle.

"Of course not," Jaxon grinned. "I'll find the other human the same way I found you guys."

"Huh?" Now it was Celebi's turn to tilt her head in confusion. "How'd you find them out?"

"Long story," Grovyle cut in before Jaxon could say anything. "We'll tell you later. Let's get going."

"Yahoo!" Jaxon cheered as he zipped out of the house.

"Sheesh," Celine chuckled. "For someone who was depressed, he certainly seems to be jubilant."

-x-x-x-x-

"Okay," Lizette said with a frown as she stared up at the large bulletin board. "What should we do today?"

"I'm not sure," Celine responded, folding her arms. "Maybe we should try for an easy mission today?"

"No way!" Lizette grinned up at her. "We totally need a strong mission."

Celine rolled her eyes. "Uh, no. We'll settle with a semi strong mission for today. How does that sound Aiden?"

She looked over to her partner and frowned. He was glaring off into the distant. Lizette sighed and shook her head, whispering, "He's still not over last night?"

After the incident last night, nobody heard from him. He locked himself in his room. Fiona apologized on numerous occasions for her leaders rude comments. Neither Celine nor Lizette blamed the flower-like pokémon. After all, it hadn't been her who provoked the fight.

It only made the situation worse when they were about to leave and Celine called out to Aiden to say goodbye. He never bothered to come out of his room. Celine heard Drexel grumbling something disrespectful under his breath as he was leaving. There was almost another fight right there and then, but Celine kept herself in check.

In fact, it was only when Jaxon and the others returned from their mission unsuccessfully that he bothered to come out of his room. He grumbled his hellos, entered the kitchen, grabbed his food and then sulked all the way back to his room where he proceeded to lock himself in.

Lizette and Celine tried to cheer up the fighting/steel-type canine, but he refused to even acknowledge their jokes and light humor. Eventually, the two gave up.

They attempted again earlier that morning, but he was still in his foul mood and didn't bother to say anything. His rotten attitude was starting to get on Lizette's nerves. Celine, on the other hand, wondered if he was mad at her for even pointing her weapon at him during last nights fight.

"Are you going to sulk all day?" Lizette asked.

"I'm not sulking," he grumbled.

"Yeah, okay. Keep telling yourself that," she said, rolling her eyes. "Are you even going to bother helping us with picking out a mission?"

"Whatever floats your boat," he answered, his tone hinting at his annoyance.

"Ugh! I give up on you!" Lizette yelled, exasperatedly tossing her hands up. The feline turned way from him and glared back up at the board.

Celine's ears flattened against her skull. "Aiden?"

He glared at her from the corner of her eyes. She flinched inwardly.

"I'm going home," he snapped, walking away from the pair before Celine could say anything. Her hand reached out for him, but paused midway.

Her eyes began to water as she watched him walk away. "L-liz?" she choked out.

Lizette looked at her. "You okay?"

"Did…Did I make a bad decision by pointing my weapon out at him…?"

"Of course not," she said softly. "He was about to pounce. You had no choice."

"I wish I could believe that," she whispered dejectedly, her shoulders slumping.

Lizette jumped onto the upset braixen's shoulders and rubbed her face against hers. "Are you up to doing a mission today?"

In all honesty, Celine wanted to say no. She didn't feel like fighting; not after the look she'd received from Aiden. But part of her knew that she had to keep practicing, otherwise she'd never be able to keep up with the enemy. After a moment, she nodded to her friend.

"Can we try for a semi easy job?" she asked.

Lizette nodded. "Of course!"

* * *

Yep, another moment to listen to the author's ramblings! :D

I'd thought I'd say something now in case I happen to forget, but I'll be going on vacation soon and I'll be away for about a week. I'll work on the story as much as I can while I'm up there, but unfortunately none of those completed chapters will make it up until I return home.

Thank you once again, **November Red Angel**, for the review! I'm glad that you're enjoying them! And yeah, I had the same reaction when I brought Celebi into the mix. She can be so clingy, but at the same time she is so adorable!

Anyway, enjoy the new chapter everyone!


	15. The Kidnapping

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 14: The Kidnapping

The mission Lizette picked out was an easy one, or so that's what Celine believed. The mission was to go to Greenfall Forest and retrieve a lost item. Not too hard, right?

The only difficulty the braixen had was keeping her focus. She'd lost it on numerous occasions and was now paying the price for it. Cuts and bruises were all over her body, and they weren't even halfway done with their mission!

"Are you sure you don't want to go back?" Lizette asked her for the fifth time during their trip. She was staring at her friend in worry.

Celine took her head, determined to finish the mission. "I'm fine."

"Celine…" Lizette groaned, but she ignored her and went ahead.

Lizette sighed and ran after her. When this was over, she planned to have a _stern_ talking to with Aiden. Because of his little temperamental attitude, Celine wasn't doing as well as she normally did.

After another half hour, the duo found the item that was requested. Lizette stared at the Heal Ribbon in her hands. "Don't they sell these in one of stores?"

"They do," Lizette answered, frowning at the ribbon. It was faded and old. Lizette could only wonder if it was a family treasure or something.

"Then let's get out of-" Celine was cut off by something jumping on her and biting her. She immediately felt dizzy and wobbled around. Whatever had jumped on her was now off.

In the distance she could hear screaming and laughing. "L-liz?" she murmured, finally falling to the ground. Her vision cleared up enough to see Gothitelle and her gang surrounding the small feline. "L-liz!"

Lizette backed away from the familiar trio, her eyes wide and terrified. A little ways off she could see Celine collapsed on the ground. She glared up at the trio. "What've you done to Celine?!"

"Oh, just fed her some of my poison~" Seviper snickered, lifting his tail towards his face in mock innocence. "I had to make sure she didn't try anything."

"What do you want?" Lizette hissed, backed up all the way against a tree.

Gothitelle smirked and bent down to the psychic feline's eye level. "We want to know the location to the stones."

"Stones?" she asked, feigning innocence. "We don't know where they are!"

"Oh really now?" she asked with a smirk. She looked to Seviper and gave him a nod. With a brightened expression he slithered over to Celine and wrapped himself around her. She let out a sharp cry of pain.

"Celine!" Lizette cried out, about to run to her friend's aid. Banette appeared in front of her, effectively blocking her path. She looked at him then back to Gothitelle. "I don't know anything!"

Gothitelle rolled her eyes and waved her hand. Banette took this as his signal and blasted the feline into a nearby tree. She cried out and slid to the floor. She winced in her attempt to get to her feet.

"I'm telling the truth!" she said.

"Tick, tock~" Seviper sang. Lizette watched with growing horror as beads of sweat rolled down the braixen's face, wetting her fur. She was half conscious. "I_ swear!_"

She'd been so focused on her friend that she hadn't seen the shadow ball heading right towards her. It slammed itself against her and sent her flying into another tree. She slid to the ground, unconscious.

Gothitelle tapped her foot impatiently as she glared at Banette who winced under her harsh gaze. "Whoops."

"Hmph," she snorted. "Leave her. Let's get going. We've got the human."

"Wait!" Seviper said, slithering over to her. "Why not bring her to another disclosed location and make her team search for her? We'll leave her out in the open and use her as bait, and then, when they rush towards her, we ambush them!"

"And then what?" Gothitelle asked.

"We could trap her and another one of them and _force_ them to tell us! And if they don't… well…" he grinned evilly, leaving the rest unsaid.

The gothitelle herself smirked, seeing exactly where her teammate was going. "That sounds like a good idea. Then we can bring her back to Icy and also tell her that we know where to look for the stones!"

The trio snickered in evil delight. "Take the poison out of her and leave behind a note," Gothitelle ordered.

Seviper immediately approached the braixen while Banette had plucked out a letter from nowhere. Gothitelle stared at him with an eyebrow raised. "You two were planning this, weren't you?"

He grinned weakly and nodded. "We thought you'd like the idea, so we did it anyway."

"Smart," she chuckled, using her telekinesis to lift up the unconscious braixen. "The poison is removed?"

"Yep!" Seviper chortled, absolutely excited that their plan was a go.

"Then let's get going," Gothitelle said, moving into the shadows of the trees. "I hope the rest of them enjoy our present!"

-x-x-x-x-

Aiden sat beneath his favorite tree. He hadn't bothered to return to the base. He wasn't in the mood to be playing 21 questions with that chatterbox of a legendary pokémon. In his opinion she was annoying. He would never be able to figure out how Grovyle could stand her – especially when she rubbed up against him, or spoke to him lovingly.

The memory of last night was replaying itself in his minds eye. He couldn't wipe away the serious look that had been on Celine's face when she drew her weapon and pointed it towards him. He'd been surprised, having never expected that she would draw her weapon and point it towards him.

He knew that she wasn't joking either. She had that look that told him that she didn't want to fight him, but wouldn't stand down if he attacked either. She almost looked relieved when he stood down the first time too.

Part of him had felt betrayed that she would point her weapon at him, but the other half knew that she was doing it in her attempt to stop a fight from breaking out. But the part of him feeling betrayed won out, and it only seemed to grow when he would look down at the scratch she had unknowingly gave him.

Psychically it barely hurt, but it had caused a lot of pain inside. It was the very reason why he avoided her and snapped at her earlier that day.

He immediately felt guilt grab him when he pictured her pained look. It melted away his anger, but in turn, replaced it with guilt. But since he was a proud type, it was hard to walk up to her and apologize.

With a sigh, he closed his eyes.

"Aiden!" Annoyed, Aiden opened his eyes and looked over to see that Silver and Grovyle were running towards him. Both of them looked extremely anxious. He briefly wondered how in the world they even knew that he was here.

He got to his feet. "What?"

"Liz…" Silver began, attempting to gather his breath.

Grovyle finished it for him. "…Lizette and Celine were attacked!"

He could feel his heart and the world around him stop. His annoyed expression turned to disbelief.

"It's true!" Silver said. "Lizette came back to the base covered in bruises and cuts. She's unconscious now, but before she fainted she told us that she and Celine were attacked while they were on their mission!"

He didn't need to hear anything else. He dashed past them and ran as fast as his legs could carry him back to his base. _Celine! Lizette!_

A million thoughts were rushing through his head. What happened? Who ambushed them? Where was Celine?

He could feel his heart shatter when he thought of Celine being kidnapped.

When he reached the base, he zoomed right inside and into the living room. Team Invincible, Jaxon, and Celebi were all there. Celebi was helping Jaxon treat Lizette's wounds. He watched as Aldous held tightly onto Lizette's paw. He looked absolutely grief-stricken.

Celebi was the first to notice Aiden. "Aiden! There you are!"

Aldous snapped his head up and glared with pure hatred in the direction of Aiden. "_Why_ weren't you _THERE?!_" he shrieked.

"Aldous!" Fiona said.

He hissed at her warningly. "No! Stay out of this, Fiona! I want to know why he wasn't there!" He stormed over towards Aiden. "Wasn't it _you_ who yelled at everyone about getting stronger? Why the heck weren't you with your team?"

Aiden could only frown and look away from him shamefully. Aldous couldn't contain his anger any longer. Using his strong telekinesis power, he lifted Aiden off the ground and threw him through the window, barreling past Silver and Grovyle and right into a tree.

Before either Drexel or Fiona could stop him, Aldous launched himself out the window and summoned an odd wave of pure psychic energy and shot it towards Aiden. Aiden had no time to react and endured the hit.

As he got to his feet he watched Aldous stalk towards him, his psychic power making him look even more ferocious than usual.

Aiden didn't want to fight him, but it didn't look like Aldous planned to let up any time soon. Deciding that he would stand his ground, he summoned forth two bones and held them in front of him.

Aldous watched him through narrowed eyes. With a rise of Aldous' hands, Aiden felt an unseenable force tighten itself around him, causing him to choke. In an attempt to distract the psychic feline's attack, he tossed one of the bones in his direction.

It hit the cat-like pokémon, causing him to take a few steps back. Aiden used this opportune moment to dash towards him with another pair of bones. He managed to score one hit on the meowstic, but before the other attack could land, the meowstic vanished.

He looked around for any sign of the meowstic. Suddenly he felt the air pick up intensity and looked up at the sky to see a pair of dark clouds rolling over him. He jumped out of the way just in time from a thunder shock attack.

There was still no sign of the psychic-type pokémon much to Aiden's dismay. He felt the ground beneath him crumble a bit. He didn't have enough time to dodge the psychic blast from Aldous as he shot out of the ground.

Aiden stumbled a bit back, but immediately recoiled with an aura sphere. The attack hit Aldous, but didn't do much damage. But it provided Aiden with all the time he needed to use his extreme speed to run into the small feline and send him barreling into a nearby tree.

Jumping away he charged up a shadow ball and sent it flying towards Aldous. Aldous saw this and barely managed to pull up a protective screen to defend him from the attack. Aiden broke through the shield with a hard punch and slammed his other fist into Aldous' face.

"STOP!" Fiona screamed, fearful of her friend's life. Drexel prepared himself to jump into the fray, but another small form flew past him and into the direct path of Aiden's bone rush.

Aiden felt his bones slam against another shield. His eyes opened wide in shock when he saw Lizette on one foot with both hands outstretched to create her protective shield.

"Liz!" Aldous cried out.

"S-stop fighting!" she panted. Aiden withdrew the two bones and stared down at her worriedly.

She smiled up at him gratefully before falling back into Aldous' arms. "What are you doing out of bed?" he asked.

"I heard the commotion," she mumbled. "Celebi told me that you suddenly went stark raving mad and attacked Aiden. And since I know Aiden so well, he'd never back down from a battle."

Aiden looked away, shame written all over his face. Lizette chuckled and shook her head. "Will you two please stop fighting now?"

"Are you okay?" Aiden whispered, his voice barely high enough for her to hear.

"I am now," she said with a grateful smile. "Aldous," She looked at him, "mind helping me back into the house? Oh, and Aiden, you need to come inside. I… have bad news and you need to hear it."

Aldous wasted no time in helping his fellow feline back into the base. Aiden followed, but kept his gaze away from that of everyone else's.

When they were in the base, and when Lizette was back on her makeshift bed, she told Aiden of the events that followed after he returned back to the base. When she was finished with her story, she looked around to see everyone's reactions. She even asked Aldous to reach into her bag to retrieve the note that Team Poisonix had left behind as proof of what they wanted.

Jaxon looked conflicted, as did the majority of everyone else. Aldous was more focused on her and aiding her whenever she needed it. Aiden, on the other hand, had his eyes closed. His expression was unreadable.

"We can't tell them the location!" Celebi said.

"But if we don't, then who knows what will happen to Celine?" Fiona said, her face twisted in a mixture of grief and worry.

"It's most likely a trap," Aiden said, finally open his eyes.

Drexel nodded, agreeing with him. "They want us to bring them the map and tell them, but once they have what they want, they'd knock us out and make off with Celine and the map detailing where the stones are."

Lizette closed her eyes sorrowfully. She felt horrible. She blamed herself for not being able to help Celine. She opened her eyes when she felt Aldous tighten his grip on her hand. She smiled softly.

"What should we do?" Celebi floated around.

"Where did they ask for us to meet up again?"

"Rocky Hills," Lizette murmured. "It's very dangerous during this time of year."

"I'm going," he said, going into the kitchen to grab the map. Celebi and Fiona followed after him. Both were trying to sway his opinion, but he remained unmoved.

Just as he was leaving the base, he heard Drexel call out after him. "We're going too."

Aiden looked at him from over his shoulder. "She's my teammate."

"And she's our friend," Drexel folded his arms. "You seriously believe you can take on all three of their members? You'd be wiped out before you got a chance to do anything."

"We're coming too," Silver said as both he and Grovyle followed them outside. "We want pay back."

"Then who is staying here to keep watch over Kalista and Lizette?"

"Aldous wants to stay behind. Jaxon will obviously be out searching for the other team, and Celebi will be with Aldous. The rest of us are coming. There's no way you're changing that. So stop trying to be so head strong." Drexel folded his arms and smirked at Aiden.

His posture didn't change as he said, "Also, I want to apologize to you and to her."

Aiden was a little bit shocked, but found that he was finding his respect grow for the water-type pokémon. He smiled at the others who stood behind him.

Taking a deep breath, Aiden turned towards the path that would lead them to Rocky Hills. "Let's go."

-x-x-x-x-

Aiden and the others went in with a plan. Aiden would carry on further past everyone else with an empty bag to stall Team Poisonix. While they scrambled over the bag and took their time looking in, Aiden would zip past them and grab Celine.

He assumed that by then they would realize that the bag was merely empty and turn to attack him. They'd be so focused on him that they wouldn't know about the others until it was too late.

From there on out, Aiden would take the chance to escape. Shortly after, the others would follow.

But before they entered Rocky Hills, Aiden made sure to brief everyone about Team Poisonix and that they were mostly going to attempt to ambush him. He knew that telling them might not be beneficial, but it was something just in case things didn't go according to plan. And it's not like he'd be going there blinded. He planned to use his aura abilities to scan the area and adjust himself accordingly.

Due to his earlier battle with Aldous, however, he was sore. So, he would avoid fighting as much as possible. That's where Drexel would come in. Since the frogadier was stealthy and good at hiding, he would stick closer to Aiden and strike Team Poisonix if Aiden was distracted by something else.

All in all, the plan seemed flawless. But Aiden knew that it bound to change.

After ten or fifteen minutes, Aiden was nearly at the requested meeting place: the peak of Rocky Hills. He was trying not to think about the horrible conditions he'd be facing.

Lizette told everyone that the conditions were not all that great. Boulders constantly fell down the slopes of the mountains, and the sides of cliffs could collapse at any given moment.

He prayed that he and the others would be long gone before any of that happened.

Finally at the peak of the mountain, he immediately noticed Celine sprawled out near the edge of the cliff. He wanted to run over to her and grab her before she fell, but he knew from the back of his mind that it was a trap.

He closed his eyes and scanned the area. From a little ways off to his right he could see Seviper slowly inching towards him from behind a rock. Just as the poison-type was about to strike, Aiden leaped out of the way.

He got into a fighting stance and glared at the snake-like pokémon. A second later Gothitelle and Banette appeared in front of Celine, both smirking at him.

"My," Gothitelle said, not all that surprised, "I guess you saw us coming?"

"Here's a tip for the future," Aiden said, "never try sneaking up on a pokémon with the ability to see other pokémons auras as well as manipulate them."

She raised an eyebrow amusedly. "You might've avoided Seviper's poison, but I'm afraid that your friend here is still infected."

"She can be saved, however," she reached out towards him with her hand open, "you have to give us the map."

"You would kill her?" he asked, surprised. "Wouldn't that upset your superiors?"

"They've got enough human turned pokémon," Banette sneered. "One less won't hurt them. Now hand over the info!"

Aiden scowled, but complied. He tossed the bag to his right, hoping to steer them away from Celine.

All three Team Poisonix members scrambled towards the bag and grabbed it. Gothitelle was the first to discover that there was nothing inside of the bag and snarled at Aiden. He had already picked up Celine bridal style and was about to run off when Team Poisonix got in his way.

He backed away towards the edge of the cliff. "Where's the information?!"

"Sorry," he grinned, "but I never planned to give you the information! Now!"

Banette and Seviper had no time to react to the ambush. Gothitelle, having previously thought that Aiden brought back up, teleported away. She reappeared closer to Aiden and was about to strike when they heard something cracking. They both looked down simultaneously just in time to see a crack appear and slowly grow bigger between their feet.

Neither had the time to escape as the cliff broke off seconds later.

"Aiden! Celine!" Fiona cried out and flew towards them with the full intention to help. What she didn't expect was Gothitelle grabbing her and dragging her down along with the three other falling pokémon. She screamed out for Drexel.

"Fiona!" Drexel launched himself over the cliff and after the four falling pokémon.

Silver and Grovyle were unable to help, but made sure that Banette and Seviper didn't get a chance to follow after them. They were startled momentarily by a large black blur flying past them and after the other pokémon.

While Drexel went after Gothitelle and his partner, the black blur went after Aiden and Celine. He grabbed the two roughly and used his body to shelter the two pokémon.

They crashed through several branches until they finally hit the ground with a hard _THUMP._ The impact hadn't injured either Celine or Aiden, the latter moving away to see his savior. Zoroark was on the ground, barely conscious.

"Fancy meetin' you here," he groaned.

"What the heck? Zoroark? Where the heck did you come from? And _why_ did you just do that?! Are you crazy?!" Aiden asked, looking over the dark-type fox for any cuts.

Zoroark just smirked and closed his eyes. "Perhaps I am."

Aiden stared at him. "I wasn't complimenting you."

"You're such a bore." He sat up slowly, grabbing the bag hanging around his shoulder. Taking out a Pecha Berry, he pulled Celine closer. With a groan she slowly opened her eyes and stared at him.

"Z-zoro…" she tried saying his name, her voice hoarse and barely audible.

"Don't try talking. Here, eat this," he said, handing her the Pecha Berry.

The vixen slowly ate the berry, making a disgusted face as she ate. "Was that a Pecha Berry?" she asked once she finished.

Zoroark smiled and nodded. "You were badly poisoned. Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes, much better, thank you." She looked over and noticed Aiden for the first time. "Aiden…?"

The fighting/steel-type canine looked away with a frown. He didn't know how he would speak to her after everything that had happened. He didn't have to worry for long, as she jumped to her feet in realization. "Wait, those three were plotting to hurt everyone! I have to help. I have to-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, relax there," Zoroark said, lifting a hand. "You, along with Aiden, one of Team Poisonix's members, and two other pokémon just fell from a cliff. You have two-"

"Wait, what? We just fell off a cliff?!" she exclaimed, near hysteria. "We have to find them! We got-"

"Do you mind letting me finish?" Zoroark asked, slightly annoyed. When she fell silent he took that as his cue that he could carry on. "Two other of your friends are on the cliff fighting the other two members. But they should be fine since neither of them were anywhere near the edge."

From the corner of his eyes, Zoroark noticed a small flash of light. "And I don't think we have to worry about the others who fell along with you."

"But-"

He gave her a don't-you-dare-argue-with-me look. She didn't protest further, but it was evident on her face that she was still worried.

Getting to his feet, Zoroark stretched out his sore muscles to gauge how badly he was damaged. While he did this, Aiden stared at him with a simple thought in his mind.

"How did you know something was going down?" Aiden asked.

Zoroark looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before returning to his stretching. "I was traveling through the forest when I happened to notice Lizette unconscious. There was a note attached to her demanding for the information as well as where they wanted you to meet up with them. I decided that I would help. So, once delivering your feline friend to a closer location to your base, I went out and grabbed some items before I came here. But while we're on the subject, just how is Lizette doing?"

Celine stared at him in horror, then immediately casted her gaze over to Aiden. Aiden tightened his fists and looked away. "…She was injured pretty badly, but she made it back to the base. She'll be back to her old self in no time."

Zoroark noticed the small cuts and bruises covering the canine pokémon. He was sorely tempted to ask Aiden about it, but decided against it.

"We were ambushed," Celine said softly, staring directly at Aiden.

"I know." Aiden screwed his eyes shut. "…and I'm sorry."

"Why were you so angry?" she asked. "Why didn't you come with us? I thought you said you wanted to get stronger. Did I do something to upset you?"

Aiden didn't answer at first. He didn't know how to answer that. Should he tell her the truth? He probably shouldn't. He didn't want to upset her even further.

"I wasn't feeling well," he lied.

He immediately noticed her face fall. Did she know that he was lying?

"So you don't want to tell me," she said. "You were mad at me."

He could see the pain on her face when she came to that conclusion. She walked away from him without so much as another glance at him. He wanted to say something, but he didn't know what he could say. And even if he were to tell her the truth, there was no way he was going to do it in front of Zoroark. As far as he was concerned, it was none of the dark-type's business.

Celine looked up towards the cliff. There were no paths that led from the bottom to the cliff to the top. So, the safe route was out of the question. She did notice, however, that there were enough jagged rocks to use as steps to climb back up.

She was about to ask Zoroark about it when a greninja slid past her. He quickly summoned four water-formed shurikens and tossed them in the direction he had just come from. There was a mini explosion followed by a shadow ball being sent towards him.

Having noticed Celine from the corner of his eyes, he grabbed her and jumped into the air, effectively dodging the attack. She shrieked and clung to him tightly. He winced from the sheer power of her grip, but otherwise didn't pull her away.

The pair landed in one of the nearby trees where he released her.

"Who are you?" she asked in amazement.

He simply looked at her before leaping in the direction of his opponent. She stood there, clinging onto the tree, but otherwise fine. She was still confused about the new pokémon that she hadn't seen Aiden or Zoroark running towards her.

"Celine!" Aiden called, jumping onto the same branch as her. He gently grabbed her and jumped back down. "Are you alright?"

"I'm not a damsel in distress!" she huffed, folding her arms in front of her like a child once Aiden released her. "Of course I'm fine!"

She looked in the direction of where she'd last see the greninja. _I just wish I knew who that was…_

* * *

__I'm terribly sorry for the delay, but I promise you that I wasn't goofing off! Okay, maybe I was a little, but most of my time was spent wisely! I've been working on wallpapers for the teams (though they're all crappy…). I gathered all the pictures and stuff, but the badges I had to make from scratch and that took up a lot of my time._  
_

I don't expect anyone to use them, but I'm the type of person that likes to help people 'visualize' my team, hence the wallpapers. Plus, since my description of their team badges sucks, I decided it would probably be best to just draw them.

However, only a few of them are done and have yet to be uploaded on my deviantart account. Once they're done, however, I plan to provide the link and all of you can see the teams as I picture them!

Also, thank you to all the new followers! Despite not getting any reviews, it still means a lot to me because it tells me that my writing isn't nearly as crappy as I believe it to be!

Enjoy!~


	16. Entrance! Team Solar Spiral!

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 15: Entrance! Team Solar Spiral!

Aiden was the first to reach the top of the cliff. He used his aura abilities to scan the top of the cliff before he began his climbing. He saw two auras, and believed that they belonged to Silver and Grovyle. But since he was wary, he still wanted to be the first one to reach the top and make sure it was indeed the two pokémon.

Finally, he pulled himself onto the same edge he had fallen off of earlier. Grovyle and Silver were there to help pull him, Celine, and Zoroark up.

"I'm glad to see all of you are alright," Silver sighed, the worry finally falling off his shoulders. "Especially you, Celine. How are you?"

"Better," she said, glancing over to Zoroark with a small smile. "Thanks to Zoroark here."

"It was nothing," he said, scratching the back of his head. "It is my duty to watch over you while you are in the pokémon world, as it is with all the other humans."

"Speaking of which, where are Drexel and Fiona?" Grovyle asked, not seeing the pair. "I'd figured they'd climb up with you."

Aiden looked mildly alarmed. "You mean to tell me that they haven't returned?"

The two pokémon exchanged looks before shaking their heads. Aiden rushed over to the edge of the cliff to see if he could spot any signs of them. Celine was by his side, also searching for any signs.

"Who are you guys looking for?" a familiar voice questioned.

The duo spun around to see Fiona. She was covered in small cuts and bruises, but otherwise looked fine. She was staring at the group of pokémon confused, especially when she saw Zoroark.

"Where's Drexel?" Celine asked, still searching for the female's partner.

Fiona frowned a little, casting a small glance to the shadows. "…He's here, but he doesn't want to reveal himself right now."

"Why?"

"None of your business," came Drexel's voice.

Everyone, except for Fiona and Zoroark were looking around for the concealed pokémon. Zoroark, however, kept his eyes on the shadows where Fiona had previously looked. He smirked slightly. "Toying with your new powers?"

Fiona looked shocked and shook her head. "N-no, he just prefers the shadows in the presence of unfamiliar pokémon!"

"He evolved and is shy," Zoroark continued with an amused expression. Fiona's jaw dropped, but she looked away quickly.

"You're surprisingly sharp," Drexel said, emerging from the shadows.

What the group had expected to come out wasn't what they expected. Drexel was bigger, and looked completely different than he had before. He was no longer the medium-sized frogadier, but now a full-fledged greninja. He stood next to Fiona, seemingly protective of the small flower-pokémon.

Celine was the first to react. "You!" she shouted with her finger pointing towards him. "You're the one who saved me! Is that really you, Drexel?"

The greninja nodded slowly. "Who else do you think I would be?"

"You're…different."

"Thank you captain obvious," he said, rolling his eyes. "What gave it away?"

"Oh, it's certainly him," Aiden scowled. "He's got the rotten attitude down."

Drexel raised an eyebrow as he stared at the canine-pokémon. "At least I don't disappoint, now do I?"

"Is that supposed to mean something?" Aiden growled. Celine got between the two, giving Aiden a pleading look.

Ignoring the squabble, Zoroark approached Drexel. Drexel noticed this and backed away a few steps, making sure to keep the distance the same between the two. His eyes were narrowed as he stared at the dark-fox pokémon in suspicion.

"I'm a friend," he stated plainly, stopping in his tracks. "It's my duty to watch over the human turned pokémon and guide them back on their path if they are led astray. I know that you are one of these human turned pokémon, as well as another. I have been watching you, but I have never approached you."

"Wait, why?" Celine asked, looking over to him. "You approached us."

Zoroark sighed, unsure of how to say this without hurting her feelings. "They were capable enough to continue on their own without my intervention. Plus, they had already gathered more fighting experience by the time I approached you."

"I still don't get it…" she said.

"In other words, out of the three humans, you are the weakest one. Both physically and mentally."

His words stunned the braixen into silence. _I'm…the weakest…?_ she thought, still processing his words. As the reality behind his words sank in, her ears and expression dropped.

"But that was before," he stated fairly quickly. "In the shape you were in, I had to approach you. Out of the three major problems our world is facing, you handle the hardest one of all. I was hasty in my approach, as I did not deem you worthy enough of the mission you are bound to face, but now I see that I have nothing to fear. You are growing slowly, but eventually you will become very strong. Do not let my words before bother you and halt you in your progress."

She frowned, his words still stinging a little. For the most part, however, she felt better.

"Why didn't you tell us there were more?" Aiden asked, looking a little peeved. "You knew all along that there were others, but you never once said anything."

"Because I cannot," Zoroark said. "You would have bypassed problems that you were meant to face in order to grow stronger. As the one charged with the duty to oversee newly human turned pokémon, I cannot help you make things easier. The missions that the humans have been called down to fulfill are difficult, but the path they travel down to that road hardens them and makes them stronger in order to defeat it."

Aiden appeared to be satisfied with the answer, but it was evident on his face that he was still a little upset about it. "So, in other words, you can't tell us where the last one is."

"No, I cannot," Zoroark shook his head.

Fiona casted a brief glance towards her partner. She noticed that he kept his eyes locked on Zoroark. She knew that look, and she felt her heart drop. Pulling him away from the group, she decided to ask him what was on his mind.

"I don't trust him," Drexel said, his voice low. "For the most part he is telling the truth, but there's one thing he has yet to tell us."

"What would that be?" she asked, wondering just what it could be the dark-fox pokémon could be hiding from them.

"I don't know," he responded with a sigh, "but until then, I don't trust him. For now we should return to the base and check in on Aldous as well as his lady friend."

A playful smirk spread across the females face. "I'll be surprised if he hasn't asked her out on a date by the time we return."

-x-x-x-x-

It was nightfall by the time the entire group returned back to the base. Zoroark had left them halfway along their journey back, saying that he would return to his home. Everyone said their goodbyes, except for Drexel, the latter still suspicious of the dark-type.

When they returned back to the base, Celine ran into the base and into the living room where she noticed Kalista and Jaxon, but no Celebi, Aldous, or Lizette. Panic was starting to grow inside as she wondered where her friend was.

"Celine!" Jaxon said, smiling when he noticed she was back. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she answered quickly, "But where is Lizette?"

Jaxon scratched the back of his head. "She…well…"

"What?" Celine nearly snapped.

"She decided that she wanted to go to the library. Aldous went with her as well as Celebi. The latter, I believe, will be attracting a lot of unwanted attention…"

Before he could say anything else she sped out of the room and towards the town. "W-wait!" he tried calling for her. He sighed when he realized she was long gone. "And I didn't even get to tell her the great news…"

"What great news?" came Aiden's voice.

Jaxon shot his head up and was about to greet them when he noticed Drexel's new form. He just stared at him for a while, then, with a shrug, he told them what he had discovered while they were gone. "I caught the scent of the last human, and I know exactly where she lives."

"You found them?"

"It's another girl?"

Jaxon could only stare at Drexel who appeared to be a little unpleased to know the last human was a female. Occasionally shooting glances back at Drexel, he answered Aiden's question. "Yep. After you guys went off, I decided to look around town once more. Unexpectedly, I caught the scent of another human, so I looked around and eventually I spotted an eevee with two other pokémon. I never approached her though, but I did follow her. She lives in a small cave outside along the west path of town. It's discreet, since it's practically covered in bushes… Heck, I never even noticed it until I saw them going through the bushes!"

"We have to get Celine back," Aiden said. "She needs to hear this. Then we need to go and get this other human, tell her about us, and hopefully get along with our missions to stop whatever is causing all this mayhem."

"Where did she go running off to anyway?" Fiona asked.

Jaxon grunted. "She went racing off to the library, I believe. Lizette and Aldous are there, along with Celebi-"

"Celebi went with them?!" Grovyle cut him off. Jaxon nodded slowly, understanding why the grass-type was so angry.

He tossed his hands in the air and angrily left the base while grumbling, "If I've told her once, I've told her a million times to avoid going into populated areas! I'm _so_ glad she listens…" Silver followed after him, chuckling lightly and a roll of his eyes.

"We're going too," Drexel stated. "Will you be staying here Jaxon?"

The electric mouse nodded. "Yeah. Kally needs me, even if she can't see that I'm here."

"Very well." Drexel walked out of the room. Fiona took a moment to adore the sentiment that Jaxon had said, believing that it was absolutely adorable that he was still there for her. Aiden, having nothing else to say, decided to follow after them to see his two partners.

By the time they reached the library, Celine was outside of the library with Lizette and Aldous. Lizette looked better than she had before, or so Aiden thought. She certainly looked happier and it appeared that her wounds were healing quickly. Though he did notice the slight limp in her walk. Aldous, for the most part, remained next to her and assisted her whenever she needed it. He decided to steer clear of the male meowstic.

Aiden watched as Drexel and Fiona approached their member. Aldous, unused to seeing his friend fully evolved, was shocked, but excited to see the improvement. Even Lizette was surprised and congratulating him.

He felt like an outsider as he watched Celine and Lizette speak happily to each other. Neither seemed to care much that Aiden wasn't there. Could he blame them for feeling that way? He had abandoned them and because of that Celine was kidnapped and Lizette was badly injured.

The guilt was gnawing at him again. He found himself unable to approach his two teammates. What could he tell them? Would they resent him for abandoning them? It made him uneasy when he thought of them hating him. He didn't want them to, especially the female braixen who'd he fell in love with. He'd never admit it aloud, but in the recesses of his mind, he knew that vixen pokémon had earned his heart.

Noticing his uneasiness and his reluctance to join the group, Lizette wobbled over to him with Celine assisting her. "Aiden."

He visibly flinched, but looked at her guiltily. He could see from the look in her eyes that she was not mad, but curious.

"You have a lot of explaining to do," she said, her tone suggesting that this was not up for debate.

He already knew this. "Yes, I know. But can we please not have this discussion in front of them? This is something I would rather say with you two and you two alone."

Lizette smiled and nodded. "Of course. Are you all right, though? I notice that Aldous beat you up quite a bit."

"Wait, _that's_ where all these cuts and bruises came from?" Celine asked, surprised by the revelation.

"I'm fine," he said, idly rubbing one of his wounds. "They'll heal in time. More importantly, what about you?"

"Sore," she chuckled, "but I'll recover."

He flinched inwardly when Celine approached him. She pressed one of her hands on one of his wounds before looking at him worriedly. "You fought with Aldous…? Why?"

"He was mad," he said. "…Because I failed in my duty to protect you and Lizette."

He was surprised to see water building up in her eyes. She hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry," she cried silently.

He blushed when she hugged him, and grew even more embarrassed when he noticed that everyone around them was staring at them. "Celine," he whispered, "can… we please take this somewhere else? Everyone's staring…"

She wiped away one of her tears. "Sorry."

Bidding the others farewells, the trio left to find a more secluded place. Seeing as nobody would be there to eavesdrop on them, Aiden decided to take his two teammates to his favorite spot.

Once they got there and settled themselves, everything turned serious immediately. Lizette was staring at Aiden hard while Celine fidgeted slightly. Aiden didn't like the tense atmosphere, but he knew that it was because he was nervous.

"Why were you in such a rotten mood?" Lizette asked, the first of many questions she had for the lucario.

He snuck a glance over to Celine before looking away shamefully. He decided a long time ago he was going to give them nothing but the truth. "I was mad at Celine."

His words stung Celine hard. She lowered her eyes and looked like she was about to start crying. Her previous thoughts were now confirmed.

"I…felt betrayed. I never imagined you would point your weapon towards me, and I never expected you to really intervene if I fought someone. It's foolish reason, and one that I'm deeply ashamed of."

"You snapped…because of me," Celine said dejectedly. He could see the tears running down her cheeks now. "I figured you were mad at me after I saw your gaze this morning, but it still hurts. I didn't mean to make you angry. I just didn't want an unnecessary fight to break loose! Even if he is rude sometimes, Drexel is kind."

Lizette nodded her head. "Yes, he's rough around the edges, but there's a reason why he holds so much respect from Aldous and Fiona. We'll probably never see that side of him, but I think it tells us that he is kind."

"Him provoking things didn't help though," Celine murmured.

"I agree completely with you. Fiona and Aldous do as well, in fact, Aldous told me that the night before Drexel kept tossing and turning like he was having a nightmare. He was snappy in the morning, and when he calmed down slightly, he told them about seeing a tower. Though, he didn't go into much detail." Lizette folded her arms, wincing slightly from the pain.

"I never wanted either of you getting hurt," Aiden said. "If I had known, I would've came."

Lizette placed a paw on his reassuringly. "I'm not mad at you Aiden. I understand you needed space, though I will say your attitude from earlier today did not have me pleased. Next time, instead of holding it in, talk to us. We're your teammates and friends, Aiden. We're here with you no matter what."

Aiden looked over to Celine. Out of all the pokémon he wanted to hear that from, he desperately wanted to hear it from her.

She smiled at him and threw herself on top of him, hugging him tightly. He was blushing furiously, but also smiled. She didn't need to tell him that she had forgiven him. Her current action had told him everything he needed to know.

"I have some good news," he said after a while.

"What kind? Did Jaxon tell you why he was so excited earlier?" Lizette joked. "Personally, I think he's plotting another prank."

"No, much better than that," Aiden smiled. "He found the last human."

"What?!" both females yelled in unison. "He found them?"

He nodded. "He wanted to tell you Celine, but you shot out of the room before he even had the chance. I'm not sure how things are going though, they planned to go after we found you guys."

As if on cue, he heard Celebi's voice. "Aiden! Celine! Lizette! There you are! Guys, they're over here!"

He groaned when the pink legendary floated around the trio, intently staring at Aiden and Celine, the pair still in their embrace. With a squeal of surprise, Celine released her grip on Aiden and moved away. The skin underneath her fur became a colored in cherry red.

Celebi smirked at Aiden who scowled at her and gave her a look. The legendary just giggled and flew off towards Silver and Grovyle. Behind them were Drexel and his team, and hiding behind his team was another trio of pokémon.

Leading the trio was a small eevee. She was looking around in awe. Around the scruff of her neck was a necklace with their team badge on it. Behind her were two flying-type pokémon. One of them was a swablu. Just like her leader, the swablu was looking around in awe, seemingly in love with the beauty of the place. The other, a noivern, kept his gaze forward, staring at the group escorting his team.

Aldous quickly ran to Lizette's side, scanning her for any open wounds. She pushed him away lightly, telling him that she was fine. He was aware that he was crowding her, but he was worried about her health after finding her unconscious in front of the base.

"This is the other team that Jaxon told us about," Silver introduced, moving away for Celine and her team to see. "The last human turned pokémon that we've been looking for."

"Now do you mind telling us why you brought us here?" The noivern asked.

"And more importantly," the swablu continued, looking over at the large group, "who are you guys and how did you find out that Rumi is a human?"

"You've already met our friend Jaxon, correct?" Aiden asked. The trio shook their heads no. "Well, he has the ability to tell the difference between a normal pokémon and a human turned pokémon. He found you guys when he was in town earlier today."

"But don't worry," Celine quickly assured them, "we're not bad or anything. I'm also a human turned pokémon, as well as tall, blue, and gloomy over there. We were looking for you so that we could combine our teams and work as a whole to complete the mission in which we were called down to do."

Both flying-types looked to the eevee, now known as Rumi. She had her eyes closed and head tilted to the side in thought.

Celebi flew over to her. "Did you have a dream about a tower?"

This question caused the normal-type to snap her eyes open and stare at the legendary in shock. "How did…"

The shiny legendary released a sigh of relief. "I came from the future," she said, "and it's looking terribly grim. I have reason to believe that you, and that fine gentleman over there, are the two pokémon who restore complete balance to our world. Or, almost all of it."

"Then who is tasked for searching for the missing pokémon?" she asked, visibly upset. "I have a friend… he's running a paradise and his partner was kidnapped! I told him that I would find his partner, but-"

"Whoa, calm down!" Celebi flew over to Celine and floated around the braixen. "This pokémon here is handling that."

The eevee looked at Celine, hopeful that the legendary's words were true. Celine nodded her head, confirming the shiny pokémons statement. The eevee released a sigh of relief, happy to know that someone was searching for the captured pokémon.

"Then that means that introductions are in order," Rumi smiled, sitting. Taking this as a sign from their leader, the two flying-type pokémon landed on either side of the eevee. "My name is Rumi, and I am a fellow human. These are my friends who've kept me safe from enemies. We're also apart of a rescue and exploration team called Team Solar Spiral, or just Solar for short."

Pointing her tail towards the swablu, she continued with her introduction. "This is Nova. She's a total sweetheart, but she daydreams often when she's not on a misson!"

"Hey!" The swablu pouted. "I do not day dream! Okay, maybe a little…"

With a roll of her eyes, Rumi continued and pointed her tail to the noivern. "And this is my partner, Donte. He's also the second leader of our team and also acts like our bodyguard during the night! He's usually sleeping in the day, but today we all had to go on a mission. So, how about you guys?"

Celine stood up proudly. "My name is Celine and I'm the leader of Team Cosmic. Like you, I'm also a human. These are my friends, Lizette and Aiden." Aiden and Lizette nodded their heads in greeting.

"And my name is Drexel," Drexel said, grabbing the trios attention. "I'm also a human. This is Fiona, and this is Aldous." When he finished, he leaned against the same tree that Aiden was leaning against. It was obvious he was done with his introduction. Fiona sighed, but smiled and waved politely to the group. Aldous also nodded from where he was.

-x-x-x-x-

"Finally!" Icy exclaimed happily, moving the map in her hands away from her face. "I've found the location!"

In her hands was a map detailing the location of Sparkling Grove. It was exactly what she'd been hoping for, especially after the last few stressful days.

Things had been hectic. Her informants had informed her of another human turned pokémon who lived far away from them, one that they hadn't even heard of until the rumor that the legendary pokémon, kyurem, was defeated. It wasn't until these same informants visited the disclosed location of Pokémon Paradise did they find out that the human who had defeated the pokémon was there. Luckily, they had captured the pokémon before they could evolve further and cause unnecessary problems.

She leaned her head in the palm of her hands. With the location of Sparkling Grove now in her hands, she could find the place, steal the mega stones and find out if her theory was indeed true. And even if it didn't, she still didn't plan on allowing her enemies to obtain them either.

Looking back to the map, she calculated how long the trip would be. If things went smoothly, then she would reach the place in five days. With this in mind, the dark/ice type got off her chair and started gathering items and shuffling them into her bag. She needed to leave _now._ She wasn't sure if the enemy had found them, or if they were even aware of the place, but she wasn't taking risks.

Once everything was gathered and she was ready, she left a note on her desk in case a guard happened to come looking for her. She wanted them to inform her master of her discovery, and gave the order to 'enlighten' a certain ninetales by the time she returned.

She took one last glance of her room, nodded when she was satisfied, and left the room to begin her long journey.

-x-x-x-x-

"…And that's why we needed to find you." Aiden finished.

Rumi took in all the information as if she were a sponge. By the time the lucario had finished his explanation, she was aware of her purpose in the pokémon world and what she had to do. She didn't need to tell them that she agreed to join forces with them as she had already decided from the moment she heard about there being other humans and their responsibilities in the world were.

"So, what's our first move?" she asked, glancing back to her partners. "We weren't really going for anything except to train and become stronger, but now that we're together, I can see that we need to move things along quickly."

Celine nodded in agreement. "We need to go to place called Sparkling Grove. That's where the mega stones are. Once we find those, we can become stronger and begin moving to stop this war."

"Sparkling Grove, huh?" Donte said, a far away look in his eyes. "I've flown over that place before. Never knew it would become so important. Heck, I didn't think there was anything special about the place."

"We should move by tomorrow," Nova said.

Lizette was in complete agreement. Aldous, however, looked baffled. "Oh no," he began, glaring at Lizette, "_you're_ not going anywhere."

"I have to go!" she argued. "This is my team-"

"And do what?" he asked, folding his arms in front of them. "You're badly injured, Lizette! You need to rest."

"A couple of Oran Berries will fix that!"

"I still don't think you should go. Oran Berries will only subdue the pain. It won't help you get stronger, or improve your speed with a bruised body!"

"It's her decision," Celine spoke up. "It'll take us four days to get there. I'm pretty sure by then she'll be completely better."

Aldous stared at her as if she had lost her mind. "She needs _rest!_"

"And just how do you plan she will get that by staying here? If anything, she'll be fretting over our health and probably come after us!"

He was going to continue his argument, but Lizette lifted her paw firmly. "I'm going."

With a defeated sigh, his shoulders slumped. She put a paw on his shoulder. "I'll be fine, Aldous."

"If it helps," Nova began, "she can rest on my body as we're going there."

"That would be terrific," Aiden said. "I don't mind her coming, but I do insist that you get some sleep along the way there. Save your energy."

Lizette stared at the group as they continued their plans for tomorrow's trip. "Sheesh," she grumbled. "You guys treat me as if I'm some fragile piece of glass…"

* * *

All right, yet another chapter is out! I'm sorry if it's rushed. I'm excited to reach a certain part of the story that I'm certain will make all of you drop your jaws. So, in the meantime, the chapters might be a tad bit rushed.

Oh yes, as I promised before… I have completed the wallpapers! As I said before, I don't expect people to use them as wallpaper for their computers. I just put them up there for a visual effect. Anyway, if you're interested, here is the link to the pictures!

And if the link above does not work (or even show), just go to devintart and search for "Prettystarz4ever."

**November Red Angel:** Well, I think that because I'm very self-conscious about my writing. xD I'm constantly worried if I worded things properly because the way I say and write things are different from a lot of people and tend to not make sense half the time. I'm also constantly terrified that I'm butchering a character from the series that isn't mine. ._. Grovyle, for example. He is such a badass… I just don't think my writing is doing that one any justice! Also, I checked out the story you told me about and I must say that it's definitely got me interested! Also…I don't want to hint _too_ much towards a sequel, but I am certainly thinking of one!


	17. The Trials of Their Hearts

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 16: The Trials of Their Hearts

Everyone was both excited, yet nervous of their trip. Excited because, if everything went well, they would grow stronger, and nervous because they didn't know what to expect. Sparkling Grove was unexplored territory, and there were hardly any reports on what type of pokémon lived in the cave and what dangers that they may or may not face. Plus, there was that slight fear of whether or not the enemy learned the location of the place and was either there, or beat them to it. Though Celine was certain that they weren't there. Especially after hearing about what Team Poisonix wanted.

Along the way, they faced little to no danger. Drexel or a member of his team, Rumi or a member of her team, Celine, or Aiden quickly smothered what danger they did face. Though, for the most part, Nova remained out of the battle as Lizette was snoozing away on her back.

Rumi spent her time near her teammates. Not only did she worry that her friend Nova was in over her head with carrying the injured feline on her back while continuously flying, but also she worried about her friend from Post Town.

When she first came to the world, she didn't know what to expect, what to do, or what was going on. But when she found out that she was an eevee, she did not freak out. Instead she just squealed out of happiness saying that the improvement was most welcome. Of course, this made Donte, the one who found her, worried about her sanity. It wasn't until she explained her vague memories of home that he found out she didn't live in this world, but lived in another. Eventually she was introduced to Nova and the two hit it off immediately. It wasn't long after that the trio made their own rescue team.

During their pursuits to find out why Rumi was called down into the pokémon world, they heard of a growing paradise in the outskirts of Post Town. They went there and met with the two leaders of the team. Sniven, a male snivy with a rather outgoing personality, and Tyrella, a female axew who came from the human world with a heart of gold. There they learned that Tyrella wasn't much different from Rumi in terms of not understanding why they were called down to the world. It was disappointing for the normal-type, but comforting at the same time to know that she wasn't alone. Since then, Sniven and Tyrella kept in touch with her.

While she mused about her first moments in the pokémon world, Donte kept an eye on her. He knew that she felt horrible for their friend's loss, and knew that the small pokémon pledged to find Tyrella. He just hoped that Rumi would come out of this entire thing okay.

"You all right?" Grovyle asked, snapping the two out of their thoughts.

Rumi nodded eagerly. "Of course. I guess I'm just a tad bit nervous of what to expect."

She eyed the necklace around his neck with Team PokéStars badge. "What's your team's name?"

"Team PokéStars, though I'm not the one who came up with the name."

"Wait, _the_ Team PokéStars?" Donte asked, surprised to see members of the well-known exploration team.

Grovyle nodded with a smirk. "My friends, Annabelle and Vivian, created the group and it's name."

Donte looked over to the absol ahead of them. He was idly chatting away with Fiona and Celine, both laughing occasionally when a joke came up.

"Were they…?"

"Yes," he said, his voice low. "Annabelle was first, then they took Vivian."

"Wait," Rumi started, trying to piece things together, "I thought they were only capturing human turned pokémon. I haven't heard much about your team, but I did hear that it was led by a leafeon, who was once human, named Annabelle and her partner, Vivian. Isn't Vivian a normal pokémon?"

"And what just what do you mean by 'normal?'" Grovyle snickered. "Vivian was far from normal, that's for sure. But yes, she is a regular pokémon. Though I'm not sure why they took her as well."

"Things just keep getting more and more complicated," the noivern sighed.

Rumi didn't say anything. Her resolve only grew stronger when listening to Grovyle's words. She wanted to help everyone. With her head held high, she walked with determination laced in her eyes. That was it. She was going to help Celine and Drexel, stop the ones responsible, and restore the balance of this world even if it meant her own life.

While she became stronger in her conviction, Celine was a little worried about hers. Drexel would handle the Tower of Geoma and Rumi would handle the Tower of Spirals, and Celine would handle the Dark Army. After what Zoroark told her, it was hard to remain positive.

Fate was cruel, or so she felt. She got the hardest mission of all, yet she was the weakest out of the three humans. Plus, there was the pressure of being the one to save all the other human turned pokémon. But not just regular human turned pokémon, _heroes._ Heroes who stood up to the challenges that they were meant to face and overcame it.

She jumped a little when she felt Aiden put a paw on her shoulder. She looked at him worriedly, but offered a small smile. She rested her hand on his and sighed. "Aiden, I'm scared."

"I know," he said. "But you have no reason to be. I'll be there with you."

"I'm the weakest though. How could I be tasked with facing an entire army?" she asked, her ears drooping. "And if my dreams are right, then they aren't just an ordinary army either."

He squeezed her shoulder. "We'll figure that out when we cross that bridge."

A similar scene was taking place with Drexel and Fiona. Fiona was frowning, each step closer to their destination making her more and more nervous. She was terrified of a repeat performance of the incident at Rocky Hills. Granted, her small talk with Silver and Celine moments ago had cheered her up a little, but it still didn't fill the uselessness she felt in her heart.

"What's wrong?" Drexel asked, snapping the flower-pokémon out of her thoughts.

"Nothing," she lied.

He raised an eyebrow, obviously not believing her lie. "I can sense your uneasiness, Fiona. Now tell me, what's wrong?"

"What if I get captured again?" she murmured. "And don't tell me that you'll rescue me again because I know you will. I just don't want to be a damsel in distress all the time."

She gasped slightly when he lifted her off the ground and settled her on his shoulder. She looked at him with surprised and noticed the faraway look in his eyes. "Remember that one time you saved me?"

Fiona blushed slightly. "Y-yes, I do."

The incident he was speaking about was when he was still just a froakie and Fiona was still a flabébé. It was during one of their first outlaw missions. Everything was going so well until the outlaw became desperate. The outlaw, not wanting to go to jail, got lucky with one of his hits and knocked Aldous out and Drexel into near unconscious. Fiona had managed to dodge the attack, but she was horrified to see two of her members down. Unfortunately the outlaw noticed her distraction and used it to knock her into near unconsciousness.

She remembered watching the outlaw approach Drexel with the intent to kill him. She'd been so terrified that she screamed for him to stop, unknowingly taping into her inner strength and summoning a grassy terrain. It caused the outlaw to stop and stare at her as the petals of flowers flew around her, engulfing her in a light. When the light vanished, she was no longer a flabébé, but a floette, and a severely angry one at that. With her newfound power she called upon the flowers for more strength and defeated the outlaw, thus saving Drexel from his death.

The memory caused her to blush. "I was just protecting you…"

He smirked in turn. "And that's exactly what I'm doing for you. I wasn't kidding what I said before I evolved either."

Her blush deepened, thinking back to when he evolved into a greninja.

The impact of their fall had knocked the wind out of the flower-like pokémon and momentarily stunned her. Gothitelle was fighting with Drexel, making sure she stuck close to the downed pokémon. When she had knocked him far away enough, she grabbed the fairy-type and attempted to make him surrender. Instead of making him surrender though, she infuriated him. He called her a coward and a petty loser, growing more infuriated when he noticed that Gothitelle had summoned a psychic blade and pressed it against the floette's neck.

Fiona had never seen such rage from Drexel. He was shaking uncontrollably with anger. He growled at Gothitelle, telling her that she had a lot of nerve to point a weapon at the neck of someone he loved. However, he was nearly beaten down with the onslaught of psychic moves the psychic-type flung at him in her attempt to knock him out. Just when she thought it was over, a light engulfed him and allowed him to evolve. But Gothitelle never had the chance to see his next evolved state because he was in the shadows. From there, he continued his barrage of attacks, effectively releasing the fairy-type and causing the gothitelle to stumble back.

Tears were welling up in Fiona's eyes as she hugged his neck. She didn't mind his slight confession in the slightest. "Thank you so much, Drexel."

"No, thank you Fiona. Because without you I'd still be lost." She smiled at him, her heart swelling.

Aiden clearing his throat brought the two out of their moment. She slowly turned to see Celine, Aiden, and Aldous staring at them. Aldous and Aiden were grinning like fools while Celine smiled with a small blush, winking at the fairy-type.

Fiona's face was redder than the petal she flew on, and looked away with a shocked expression. Drexel didn't seem to be bothered by any of it, but if they could see his mouth, they could see that he was smirking.

-x-x-x-x-

Once night had fallen, the group decided to stop for the night. After everyone ate, they told stories about their adventures. Soon, one by one, everyone went to sleep.

Rumi was not one of those asleep. She had her eyes glued to the night sky, watching Donte as he twirled around in the sky gracefully. There was something about his graceful movements in the sky that entranced the normal-type.

She'd always seen Donte and Nova flying in the air, gracefully moving along with the will of the wind. Both of them were aerial specialists and knew how to work effectively with the wind, both in battle and in grace. It was so captivating in the normal-types eyes.

The eevee closed her eyes, dreaming of wings growing on her back so that she could dance with her friends in the sky. She dreamt of many things; the wind blowing in her face, the thrilling feeling of flying over a beautiful landscape, and the way the wind felt beneath her wings.

Opening her eyes she desperately wished that she could fly.

"What's with the sad face?" Rumi, startled, turned her neck to see Celine walked towards her. She was smiling apologetically for startling her.

Rumi looked back to Donte. "I wish I could fly. I wonder what it feels like… to have the wind carry you. Flying-types make it look so easy."

"They do, don't they," Celine said, looking towards Donte.

Rumi sighed dreamingly. "Donte especially knows how to fly gracefully. When he's in the sky, he's _free._ He loves that feeling more than anything." She smiled fondly at an old memory. "When we first met, he showed off. It was a beautiful display. Especially when he added a few visual effects."

"Do you like him?"

The question caught the normal-type off guard. "Like him?"

"As more than a friend, I mean," Celine said.

Rumi didn't answer at first. She looked back to Donte, wondering exactly what it is that she felt for him. "…I think I might have a crush on him. I'm not entirely sure. I'm trying my hardest not to fall in love."

"W-why?" Celine asked, surprised by this.

"Some humans remained here in the pokémon world, while others were forced to return home. From what I heard from Nova and Donte, there are a lot of human turned pokémon in this world. Eventually…" her face fell and her ears drooped. "…Some of us won't have the choice to come back."

"They made the decision to stay in the human world, didn't they?" Celine asked.

Rumi shrugged. "I don't know. But in the end, does it matter? We have families back in the human world, right? A mother, father, sibling…maybe even a lover. Won't they miss us? What happens to our bodies when we're here? Have we completely faded from the human world? There's just so much that I don't understand. And I don't want to have to hurt anyone for my own happiness."

"Are you saying that us staying here will eventually tip the balance of the world in the wrong direction?" Celine asked, having never thought of the things that Rumi brought up.

Again, Rumi shrugged. She looked conflicted. "I don't know, to be honest. But what if we don't have the choice that others have? What if we can't come back? We'll be leaving this world behind, and all the pokémon that we've come to love and work with. Our leaving will hurt them because they know they'd never see us again."

Neither of them spoke for a while. She'd never thought about those things. She had just assumed that she would be staying in the pokémon world once her job was done. Her heart ached at the thought of leaving Aiden once their job was over. He would be crushed, devastated even. Even Fiona would be as well, once Drexel left.

Rumi noticed the crestfallen look on the braixen's face, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry for crushing your hopes. We still don't know what will happen."

"No, you're right," Celine said after a moment. "None of us knows what will happen once we're done. I just assumed we'd be staying like the other human turned pokémon had."

"We still might," Rumi said, thinking positively. Celine looked at her curiously. The eevee smiled warmly. "Didn't the wish to be with their partner enable them to stay? I'm sure both the human and their partner had to go through a trial to ensure their stay in the pokémon world. When you think about it that way, then there's a chance for us to stay after all."

What the eevee said instantly erased Celine's sadness and replaced it with hope. "Yes," she said, the thought of it welcoming, "there is still hope!"

-x-x-x-x-

Finally, after four days of walking, the large group stood in front of the entrance of Sparkling Grove.

The area around the grove was beautiful. The trees were all colored in a dark blue with white and yellow flowers. Some of the trees were meshed with dark blue and purple with red, yellow, and white flowers. Even the grass was in odd hues of color. Some parts were colored a dark green, while other spots were a light blue. It almost looked like they were in outer space.

The trees framed a perfect entrance into the small cave known as Sparkling Grove. Just like it's name stake, the cave was covered in jewels that sparkled whenever the light touched them.

Aiden stood in front of the group with his hands on his hips and his eyes locked on the entrance. Drexel was beside him, also sizing the place up. "Be ready for anything," he said to Aiden.

Aiden eyed him from the corner of his eyes before nodding. "The same to you. We have no idea what to expect in this place. Do you think it would be best to travel in one whole group?"

"I'm not sure," Drexel answered. "We don't know if our enemy is here and we don't know what to expect inside."

"H-hey!" Both male pokémon turned to see all the girls laughing or giggling at Lizette's expression. Aldous was in front of her with a flower and a big smile, and if Drexel looked hard enough, a small blush.

Lizette looked away with a mock scowl, her face obviously turning red. "What the heck are you doing trying to woo me at a time like this?"

"To see if my tactics work and prevent you from hurting yourself any further," Aldous answered.

She looked back at him with an eyebrow raised. "Are you saying that I'm a damsel in distress?"

He gulped when she approached him with an eyebrow twitch. He backed away, still holding the flower in front of him. "O-of course not! I'm just trying to make sure that you'll be okay!"

"I'll be fine!" she huffed, folding her arms in front of her. "I could kick your butt ten times over if I wanted!"

He looked away, grumbling, "I highly doubt that."

Since they were so close the feline heard and her eyebrow twitch increased. Aldous cried out in fear as he was lifted off of the ground. He saw Lizette's ears slightly raised and her eyes glowing red. "Okay, okay, you can kick my butt!"

She dropped him with a big smile of victory. "Thank you."

He lay there on the ground with the flower landing in front of him. He pouted. Lizette, seeing this, lifted the flower and examined it. She smiled, blushing once more before kneeling in front of Aldous. "But thank you for your concern," she said, kissing his cheek and moving away.

Drexel rolled his eyes when he saw Aldous' face lit up with a goofy grin. "Will you stop goofing off?"

"Sure," he said, still smiling goofy as he got to his feet. The rest of the girls giggled at his star struck expression.

"I think you broke him," Fiona whispered to Lizette. The feline only smirked and walked away proudly, as if it had been her plan all along.

As much as Aiden enjoyed the small display of the group having fun, he knew it was time to get to business. "Alright, everyone, we're here. Before we go in, what do you guys all think? Should we travel as one large group or break into our own teams and explore the cave?"

"Wouldn't we be going in the same direction?" Lizette asked, fixing the flower to stay nestled next to her ear. "If we are, then I don't think it matters."

Celine rubbed her chin. "I agree. I really don't think we would have to separate since we're all going straight."

"Both of you are forgetting that this is a mystery dungeon," Drexel said. Fiona floated over to him and eyed the cave with a skeptical look.

"Are you so sure of that?"

"No, but-"

"Then we don't know that," she smirked up at him. "It's probably best we stick together anyway. That way we can switch if someone gets injured and needs the time to heal."

"I agree with that," Lizette said. "We don't know how strong the pokémon are in this cave, nor do we know the _types_ of pokémon inside. They could really damage us. So, if we travel together one of us can switch out to attack the pokémon before it can do any real serious damage. Plus, if we were to go separately, one of our teams could be knocked out and the rest of us would have to come looking for them, thus wasting more time."

"Okay," Drexel said lifting up both his hands defensively. "We'll stay together as a group. Now, if we're all done chatting away and wasting time, let's get going."

-x-x-x-x-

The rotation plan was a major success. The enemies were indeed powerful, but they weren't strong enough when they were paired up against a pokémon that had an type-advantage of them. Since the cave was full of water-types, rock-types, and poison-types, Lizette (though only brief moments before Aldous jumped in and continued the attack), Celine, Aiden, and anyone else that was effective against these types did most of the fighting.

They were finally reaching the end of the cave when Celine, Drexel, and Rumi felt off. Their partners felt this and became even wearier.

"What's wrong?" Fiona whispered, floating up to Drexel's face to hear him better.

She could see the slight pain in his eyes. "I don't know," he whispered softly, "something isn't right. And apparently I'm not the only one feeling this way."

The duo looked over to see Celine leaning against Aiden with a sickly look on her face. Not far behind her Donte was hovering to the side of Rumi, constantly asking if she was all right.

"There's something ahead… and it has a lot of power," he continued. Fiona looked at him worriedly. "Though, if my senses are right, it's sleeping."

"Hopefully we won't have to fight then…"

When they reached the end of the cave, they were astounded. The cave, still sparkling with an unknown light, had brightened considerably. There was a large altar at the end of the room with a lot of stones with strange symbols on them.

Celine, Drexel, and Rumi all felt drawn to them, as if the stones were calling out to them. Suddenly, the trio blanked out, causing their teammates to call out their names and surround them in sheer horror.

-x-x-x-x-

Celine groaned, opening her eyes slowly to see nothing but darkness. She sat up immediately and looked around for her friends and team, but when she found none she started to panic.

_Don't worry, human, your friends are safe._ A voice spoke, startling the braixen out of her wits. She got to her feet and looked around frantically for the pokémon that spoke. She was greeted with the sight of a yellow floating orb.

_I'm so happy to see that you've finally made it here,_ the orb spoke, pulsating whenever it did so. _I've been waiting for you and your companions. _

"Who are you?" Celine asked.

_You will soon discover, human. But first, do you know the purpose of which you were called down to face?_

"Purpose?" Celine asked, furrowing her eyes together in thought. "You mean the challenge of facing the Dark Army?"

The orb seemed to pulsate greatly, the atmosphere filling up with happiness. _Yes! I'm so relieved that you know! I was worried that you'd never make it here, and I was especially worried that you'd come here without knowing why you were called. That makes things so much easier…_

_However,_ the voice began, the friendly atmosphere disappearing once again, _you have much to learn, and a trial you must overcome._

"What do you mean?"

_I cannot tell you everything. First, you must overcome your worst fear before you can earn the stone of the guardian. _

The scenery quickly changed around the braixen. It wasn't a very welcoming scenery either; the sky's were a dark grey, threatening to release rain and thunder. She was surrounded by barren land with a looming castle in the background. She was about to ask the voice what was going on when a familiar pokémon appeared in front of her. "Aiden!"

Aiden stood in front of her, but something was wrong. His fur was discolored and his eyes void of emotion. "Aiden?"

Suddenly he charged up an aura sphere and shot it towards her. With a squeal she barely managed to dodge. "Aiden! What was that for?"

He fired another aura sphere in her direction. Having no time to react she endured it. The impact sent her flying back a couple of yards before hitting the ground with a hard _THUMP._

She sat up slowly with a groan. She stared at Aiden as he approached her. She scrambled away in fear. "A-Aiden! What's wrong? It's me, Celine!"

Aiden paused for a moment, but continued his onslaught. Celine endured the hits or either dodged them, refusing to fire an attack at him. She was crying, begging for him to snap out of whatever was wrong.

-x-x-x-x-

Rumi was going through a similar scene. She was running away from Donte who followed after her fiercely. Like Aiden, he was discolored and bent on killing the small eevee he chased. All the way, Rumi was sobbing.

"It's because I said I only have a crush, isn't it?!" she shouted, dodging a shock wave attack from the flying bat pokémon. "Look, I'm sorry! I never knew just saying that you have a crush on someone would tick you off! Or is it because I said I'm trying so hard not to fall in love with you?!"

She let out a shrill cry as he swooped down and caused the small pokémon to lose her balance. She hit the ground with a hard thump and looked back up at Donte. He was flying around her like a vulture with a predatory gaze.

"Did I do something to anger you?" she whispered, staring at him.

-x-x-x-x-

Drexel dodged each of the attacks that the floette in front of him was throwing. He had no problem with dodging her attacks, but he certainly did have a problem attacking her. He was trying to figure out why Fiona was acting so aggressive towards him. She was never like this, even on her worst days!

"C'mon," he nearly shouted, "Fiona, knock it off! This isn't funny!"

He winced when one of her razor blades cut into his skin. His reflexes saved him from another barrage of petals. Fiona glared at him and shifted the angry attack in his direction.

Knowing that he would be unable to avoid the attack, he summoned a blue shield that protected him from the barrage. He landed gracefully once the attack was done, but had no time to rest. He narrowly dodged her vine whip attack.

_What the heck is going on?_ He thought, staring at the discolored version of Fiona. "I'm not fighting you, Fiona, so please stop it!"

In his slight moment of distraction, the floette used it wisely and grabbed him with her vines. He struggled to get out, but winced when he felt his strength quickly fading. She was absorbing his health!

He was losing his strength quickly, and he couldn't figure out any other way out of this besides attacking her. The thought of attacking her, however, did not settle well over his heart.

As he felt his vision blur out and the darkness over take him, he thought of the fond memories the two shared.

_Your worst fears are to raise your weapons against those you love, huh?_ The voice echoed.

He opened his eyes slowly, seeing the ball of light from the corner of his eyes. _I can't bring myself to raise my weapons against Fiona. She's saved me far too many times, and I'm more than positive she's unaware of it. As cliché as it may sound, she's made me smile whenever I've felt sad. Her smile provides me with all the strength I need to fight. Without her, I'd be lost._

Apparently the voice had heard his thoughts as well as the other two. _Then tell me, humans; would those you love strike you intentionally?_

Drexel winced as the vine whip around him tightened. He immediately thought no, but if she was controlled, then that was most certainly a different story. If his voice couldn't break through whatever was controlling her, then how could he even save her?

_Is this how far your own love for them would go?_ The voice asked. _You would not dare to stop them as they slowly kill you, even if they were trying their hardest to fight whatever was taking them over?_

This revelation made Drexel look back at Fiona. He saw nothing in her eyes, but then he thought about what the ball of light had said earlier. This was a trial, and he was facing his greatest fear: facing off against his partner if she ever found herself controlled.

But in the recesses of his minds, he realized something. Fiona would never willingly strike him, even if a force took over her. He would see the fire of defiance in her eyes. He thought about what she would want, and he knew for a fact that she would never want to fight him and if it ever came to it, would want him to personally stop her before she did anything she would regret.

With this newfound strength he snarled at the fake Fiona in front of him. He broke free from his binds and did a backflip to avoid another swipe of her vine whip attack. He landed gracefully with four water shurikens surrounding him.

He would fight. He would _not_ let her down.

-x-x-x-x-

Rumi was thinking over the words of the ball of light. Despite their short time together, she knew from the back of her mind that Donte would never willingly attack her. The whole reason behind his evolution was to protect her. He had risked his life for the small eevee, despite not knowing her so well in the short time they spent together.

When he was evolved, he told those who faced off against him that he would never ever let anything harm her. Even if they tried turning him against her, he would never give up and fight till the death. If he ever heard her voice, he would follow it until he found her and broke free of whatever dared to get in his way.

And even though it was silly, he had promised something to her. When everything was over, he promised to teach her the art of flight.

She knew it was impossible, and that their promise was silly, but it meant a lot to the young pokémon who had no clue why she was called to the pokémon world.

Struggling to get to her feet, she decided that she would stand her ground. This was _not_ the noivern she knew. And she'd be damned if she was going to let some fake noivern tarnish her friends name!

-x-x-x-x-

Celine was still hesitant to attack, even if what the voice said had logic behind its words. This was Aiden, the strong-willed, but headstrong lucario that had earned her affections. She winced when she raised her arms in front of her to block one of his attacks.

Through her arm block she watched him desperately. Was this what Zoroark meant when he said that she was the weakest out of the humans in both mental and physical strength?

Then the dreams of her nightmares returned. The discolored pokémon army! They were in the exact same state that Aiden was in!

She yelled out in pain when one of Aiden's attacks breached her defenses and hit her squarely in the face. She stumbled back, but received a strong punch to the gut, making her double over and cough in pain. Then with a roundabout kick, he sent her flying.

Celine groaned as she struggled to get up. She was aware that if she didn't fight back soon, she would be defeated. But was the point behind this trial besides making her fight against Aiden and conquering her fear? Was it another way to show her on how to release the pokémon in this kind of state?

Her eyes flashed red dangerously. This _had_ to have the answer! This wasn't just a trial, this was a way of conquering her fear of having to face Aiden _and_ provide a hint on how to release any type of pokémon from this state of mind.

She whipped out her stick and it immediately ignited. The fake Aiden saw this and paused where he stood. "I don't ever want to fight you," she spoke, "but I will not let those ruffians tarnish your mind and corrupt you! I promise you that I will save you _and_ those other pokémon!"

As soon as she said this, there was a pillar of light that landed in front of her.

_With a conviction as strong as yours, _the voice boomed, _you are ready to harness the power of mega evolution!_

* * *

I know this is a bit late, but I just noticed that I've been describing Donte as his final evolved form and not his pre-evolved form. Whoops. Sorry guys! Hopefully it doesn't confuse anyone too much. If it does, I'm terribly sorry. I had written this with him as a noibat in my mind.

**Psychotic Sic:** Oh yes, I agree with your statement completely. That's why it always took me so long to write stories – I was worried I wasn't improving, but I can plainly see that I have improved a lot since my first few stories. And I will always keep looking back on the mistakes I made and improve upon them. Also, it's because of people like you and **November Red Angel** that I continue writing. Every review, follow, and favorite truly does inspire and shows me that I do have the ability to write.

So once again, thank you both **Psychotic Sic** and **November Red Angel**!


	18. The Truth of the Matter

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 17: The Truth of the Matter

Celine stared at the pillar in shock for a few seconds. Slowly, she felt the need to reach out to touch the pillar. As soon as her hand was close to the pillar, something shot out and wrapped itself around her wrist. Startled, she cried out and stumbled back. When she looked down at her wrist, she noticed the mega bracelet. It was colored in red and blue shades with fire and aura indentations. If she didn't know any better, she would have said that it was specifically made for her.

She didn't have time to sit there and admire it long though. Aiden came flying through the pillar with his fist raised and ready to hit her. She barely dodged it and scrambled away from him, her conviction of saving him only growing stronger.

"Aiden," she yelled, gaining his attention. "Stop this now!"

He ignored her and lunged after her. She narrowed her eyes allowing fire to erupt all around her. This caused the fight/steel-type pokémon to pause in his advances. He snarled angrily at Celine who only stared at him with pity.

Using the fire around her as a means to protect her, she closed her eyes. She had no clue how to activate the power of the mega bracelet, but at the moment she was letting her body follow its gut.

_Do you feel the power within?_ Came a voice.

Celine searched hard for it until she felt a strange warmth building up inside of her heart. _I do,_ she thought. _I can feel it inside of my heart…_

_Help that power grow. What do you want to do most?_

_I want to save Aiden. I want to save anyone who is cursed under this dark influence, _she replied.

After saying what she wanted, she saw the warmth begin to take shape in her mind. It took the form of a lucarionite. When she opened her eyes she noticed that the lucarionite was floating in front of her. She grabbed it and the fire around her dispersed, allowing the angry lucario to attack her once more.

Celine did not back off. She intercepted his attack, using the fire from her stick to make him edge away.

He continued to back off, barely dodging the fire wheels flying his way. His fear only grew as he watched her just stand there with this determined look, summoning more fire wheels around her and sending them his way.

As the power behind her attacks and ferocity grew, he watched with growing horror, as a silhouette of a human appeared the braixen. This distraction cost him, and he was bombarded with a fierce flamethrower attack. Celine would have continued her attack had she not noticed that the fake Aiden slowly disappeared and was replaced by the ball of light.

-x-x-x-x-

Rumi dodged each shot at her feet with grace and speed. With the ones she knew that she couldn't dodge she used a shadow ball to counter with. Sometimes she would stop, call for his attention, and then strike a pose to use charm on him. It would work and even distract him long enough for her to use an attack to blast him back.

In the heat of battle, a pillar of light appeared before her and caused her to stumble back unexpectedly. Like Celine, she eventually found herself gradually approaching the pillar of light until an object came flying out and attached itself to the necklace she wore with her team badge on it.

She looked down at it confused. It took her a moment to realize that this was the mega bracelet that she'd heard from Lizette and Celine. Like Celine's, her mega bracelet was colored in a pink shade with a tint of blue. There were swirls indented all over it.

Her shot up when she heard an ear-piercing cry. The fake Donte came flying towards her with his mouth open to reveal that he was charging up a dragon pulse.

Rumi took a few steps back, but her eyes narrowed. Before his attack hit, a bluish shield appeared all around her. And just like Celine, she closed her eyes and opened them the moment she found the strength inside of her taking shape. She was a little taken aback when she noticed the strange stone in front of her.

_You have earned the stone of the skies. It's among the first of its kind. Use it wisely, young one. _The voice said, echoing all around the small eevee.

She didn't seem to mind much when the noivernite disappeared. From the back of her mind she knew it would only come out when she called for it. Which was perfect, considering she had no hands. Once this trial was over, she planned to give it to Donte for safekeeping.

Once the bluish shield around her was gone, she engaged herself in the battle against the fake Donte once more. _The stone of the skies, eh?_ She thought as she stood against the strong gusts of wind Donte was creating with his wings.

She created another shadow ball and hurled it at him. The attack hit and caused the fake Donte to glare at her. Much like what happened, the noivern watched as a silhouette of a human appeared behind the determined eevee.

"You should never get distracted like that in the heat of battle!" she yelled, sudden appearing in front of the unsuspecting bat-like pokémon. "It'll cost ya!" she winked before charging up another shadow ball and hurling it directly into his face.

As she landed, she watched the impersonating noivern struggle to stay in the skies. Soon enough it was unable to keep itself in the skies and began its descent to the ground.

Without thinking, Rumi began running towards him - a part of her never wanting to see her friend fall like this. But before she was able to catch him, he vanished completely from her sight.

She stood there, a little heartbroken, but immediately perked up when she noticed the ball of light reappear before her.

-x-x-x-x-

Drexel easily dodged another blast from Fiona. He was quickly growing agitated with the mockery in front of him, posing as his dearest friend. All it did was use the same moves over and over again.

He was about to launch his water formed shurikens at the flower-mockery pokémon when a pillar of light appeared in front of him. At first, he was wary of it, but eventually grew close and earned his own mega bracelet. The color of the mega bracelet was dark blue with shuriken indentations all over it.

He'd been so absorb in the mega bracelet attached to his arm that he hadn't seen the second stone tossed at him until it slammed itself against his head. He winced and took a couple of steps back before noticing the stone rolling by his feet. Picking it up, he examined it.

_Well done, human. You have not only earned the stone of compassion, but a shiny stone as well. The shiny stone will help your female partner grow into her final evolved form. As for the stone of compassion, it's among the first of its kind. Use it wisely._ The voice of the ball of light said, echoing all around the greninja.

Like Celine and Rumi before him, a human silhouette appeared behind him when he charged up his final attack with determination. Once the attack hit and caused the fake Fiona to fade, the ball of light appeared before him.

-x-x-x-x-

The scenery all around them changed and they all found themselves next to each other. "Drexel! Rumi! Are you two all right?"

"Celine!" Rumi said happily, leaping into the vixen's arms with a smile. "Of course. The challenge was a bit hard, but I got over it! I assume the same went well for you two?"

Drexel huffed and looked away angrily. "I'm peeved that there was a mockery impersonating my friend for the challenge."

Celine smiled weakly at his angry comment. "You two got your own stones?"

"Yep!" Rumi said, puffing her chest out to show the mega bracelet. "Though I'm not sure where the stone went… I'm not too worried though. I'm pretty sure it'll appear when we get to the real world! But guess what? I was told that mine is practically among the first of its kind!"

"Same here," Drexel said, showing the two his florgesnite. He also showed them the shiny stone with a smirk. "This will help her evolve into her final form."

"Congratulations to the both of you!" Celine said with a big smile. "We all passed. Now what?"

_Now I believe it's time I told you the truth._ The ball of light said, reappearing in front of the trio. Mainly, _you three were summoned to handle the problems our world faces, but that's not all. I also called you because I have wish that I want you three to fulfill. _

The ball of light shun, blinding the trio momentarily. The light vanished shortly and where the ball of light once floated was a jirachi. It was wearing a crestfallen expression as it stared at the trio. "My name is Jirachi," she spoke. "and I am the one who called you to our world."

"It was you?" all three pokémon asked in shock.

Jirachi looked down sadly. "Yes. I saw the world as it began it ruinous path, and unfortunately I have contributed to that."

She looked at her hands guiltily. "A long time ago, there was an unfortunate accident that occurred. While trying to summon a human to our world, something attacked me and caused me to mess up the summoning. It created a dimensional tear that dragged a young human child into our world. They couldn't have been much older than three in human years. I tried to search for this child in our world, but I couldn't keep my search up for long. You see, the summoning takes up a lot of power from the pokémon that casted it. And in order for me to build up my power again, I was forced into slumber."

"But how are you communicating with us? How did you summon us?" Rumi asked curiously.

"I can still use some of my power while I am asleep physically," Jirachi said. "But it still requires some time for my power to build up again. So when I had enough power to re-do summoning, I did. Though I paid the price to add more time to how much longer I sleep and stay in this form. I can still use my power to accomplish a limited amount of things. I cannot physically move, but mentally I can. Just… not very far."

"So you're using telepathy to talk with us?" Celine asked.

Jirachi smiled and nodded. "Yes. It doesn't require a lot of power, if any at all. Sometimes it's hard for me to tell."

"We're getting off track," Drexel said, folding his arms in front of him. "What do you want us to do about this child? It's been a while, hasn't it? Why not leave that child alone?"

Jirachi shook her heard furiously. "I cannot go on with a good conscious knowing that I dragged a human child away from their parents. They were dragged into our world with no memory, no family, nobody to lean on! I know it's too late, but at the very least I want them to know who they really are!"

Drexel scoffed and looked away. "We have other problems to deal with. Problems much more important than searching for a lost kid."

"Drexel!" Celine scolded with a glare.

Jirachi lowered her head sadly. "No, he's right. You were called down to deal with the dark army and the tragedies befalling the towers. What I'm telling you now is simply my wish. My wish is for you three to find this other human and-"

They were interrupted with the sound of screaming echoing all around them. Jirachi looked around confused, then looked down at her hands. "What?!" she gasped, noticing that she was vanishing. "H-how?!"

"Jirachi!" Celine cried out, running over to the pokémon. But before she could reach the legendary, she vanished completely. It wasn't long after the legendary disappeared that the three humans also disappeared.

-x-x-x-x-

Celine was the first to stir from her unconscious. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the light of the room, and when they did, she was horrified by what she saw.

Nova was unconscious near Rumi, who was also beginning to stir, with Donte in front of the pokémon defensively with bruises and cuts all over him. Lizette was standing her ground next to Aldous with Fiona to protect Drexel. Aiden was standing in front of her on one knee.

"Is that all you've got? I must say that I'm very disappointed. I expected you to be stronger since my subordinates had such a difficult time with you guys." An unfamiliar voice coaxed.

When Celine focused on the pokémon who spoke she realized that it was a weavile. The weavile was standing in front of the altar with a hand resting on her hip and a smug look.

"We're just getting started!" Aiden said, getting back into a fighting stance.

"Really?" the weavile asked, almost bored. She smirked when she noticed that Celine was sitting up, along with Rumi and Drexel.

"What's going on? N-nova!" Rumi cried out, seeing her unconscious friend.

"Who the heck are you?" Drexel asked, getting to his feet and walking in front of Fiona, Lizette and Aldous.

The weavile smirked. "My name is Icy. I am the right hand to the ruler of the Dark Armies. Pleased to meet you."

Her eyes settled on Celine specifically. "And hello to you, human. I hope that you are prepared to watch your friends die."

"Why, hello to you too," Celine grumbled sarcastically.

"She isn't the only human," Drexel said, earning the ice/dark-types attention. "There are two others here who are ready to kick your butt."

"You're gonna pay!" Rumi growled. "How _dare_ you lay your filthy paws on my friend!"

Icy was unfazed by the sheer anger, but was rather intrigued to hear that there were two other humans. "I was unaware that two more of your scum were around. I guess Team Poisonix couldn't even do that job properly."

She leaned forward in a fighting stance with her smirk wide. "So lets see what our heroes are like!"

"Stop!"

Another pillar of light appeared between Icy and the other pokémon. A few seconds later a small pokémon with a star-like head floated out with a grim expression.

Icy was mildly shocked. "So, a legendary lived here huh?"

Jirachi said nothing at first. All she could do was stare at the dark/ice-type, much to the weaviles discomfort. "So, you gonna just float there and stare at me all day or do I have to beat the living day lights out of you too?"

"Why do you desire to hurt those similar to you?" Jirachi asked, catching the weavile off guard.

"Excuse me? _Similar_ to me? They aren't _real_ pokémon! They're hybrids, rats, scumbags! Their existence in this world is a crime!" Icy snarled.

"You're even more lost than I had predicted…" Jirachi murmured in shame.

Icy growled. "Do I _know_ you?"

"Not personally," Jirachi sighed, "but it is my mistake that brought you here."

Celine, Drexel, and Rumi all exchanged looks at this statement. Was this the human child that Jirachi had mentioned prior?

"Mistake? Brought me here?" Icy sneered. "No, it was a map that brought me here."

Jirachi frowned at this and released another sigh. "First off, what is your name?"

"Icy - Icy the weavile. Right hand servant to the ruler of the Dark Army," Icy said, pride radiating off of her. "And I know something about you too, Jirachi, the wish maker pokémon!"

"Then there is no need for me to introduce myself," Jirachi said. "That makes this quicker. Icy, do you remember anything from when you were just a mere sneasel?"

Icy's eyes narrowed dangerously into slits. "What's it to you?"

"You have very few, do you not? You never had another weavile to raise you like a normal parent would, did you?"

"I…I had a parent that raised me!" Icy said, becoming defense. "But he was _much_ cooler than a simple weavile!"

Jirachi's look became more strained. "Icy, you aren't what you believe yourself to be. You are not a pokémon, but a human! You were dragged to this world when you were a child by my mistake!"

This stunned the weavile into silence. She shook her head and backed away. "Liar! I'm not a human! I'm a pokémon!"

"You know that subconsciously I'm correct, Icy. Please, let me help you-"

"NO!" Icy screamed. "YOU LIE!"

Suddenly there was a roar that shook the cave violently. Jirachi and the others looked around in horror while Icy, recognizing the roar, turned around and grabbed as many stones as she could and stuffed them into her bag.

Jirachi, seeing this out of the corner of her eyes, cried out in horror. "Icy don't!"

Icy didn't listen to her. Jirachi started flying over when suddenly the pokémon disappeared. Icy glared at the shocked faces of the human pokémon. "I'll be back to get rid of you!" she hissed before vanishing.

As soon as the dark/icy-type pokémon vanished, the tremors stopped. Nobody moved at first, for fear that the place might crumble down if anyone made any sudden movements, but eventually they started moving around a little to check on each other.

Rumi was crowding over Nova, checking the small cotton bird pokémon for any injuries. Donte was off to the side, telling her what happened after she fainted. He would also occasionally ask her if she was all right. She would nod, then return back to her inspection. Once she was done with Nova, she started inspecting him, ignoring his protests all the while. He eventually stopped, knowing that Rumi would continue until she was satisfied. So, in the meantime, he stared at the mega bracelet that hung on her necklace.

Drexel was on one knee in front of Fiona and Aldous. From the looks of it, he was looking to see if either of his teammates had been seriously hurt. When he found nothing wrong with them, he looked relieved. It wasn't until Aldous asked about the mega bracelet around his wrist until he remembered about the trials and the two stones he earned, one of which would help Fiona evolve further. He brought it out and held it in front of Fiona, telling her that it was one of the gifts he earned from completing his trial and that it was something that would help her evolve. She looked hesitant at first, but agreed to use his gift. However, she told him she would use the stone to evolve once they got home.

Lizette walked slowly over to Celine and Aiden, also curious to see how her two teammates were. Along the walk over, she noticed the mega bracelet around her friend's wrist.

"I see you earned the mega bracelet," she said once she reached them. "How'd you get it?"

"Through a trial," Celine responded, scratching the back of her head.

Lizette looked like she wanted to know more, but didn't press the matter. Celine used this chance to check up on the feline. "What about you and Aiden? Are you two okay?"

"Besides one minor scrape, I'm fine," Lizette said, looking down at the aforementioned cut on her arm.

"And I'm fine as well. She got a couple of few good hits in, but that's it." Aiden shrugged as if the whole ordeal was no problem.

Celine sighed; she was relieved to know her two friends weren't seriously injured. "What happened after I fainted?"

Aiden and Lizette exchanged looks. Lizette looked over towards Nova, seeing that the cotton bird pokémon was slowly coming to. Rumi, of course, was beside her, whispering softly.

"It was an unexpected attack," Lizette said. "You three just suddenly fainted, and we weren't sure what was going. So, we just stayed by all three of you. Suddenly, this ice beam thingy came flying out of the hallway and hit Nova directly. Knocked her right now. That's when that weavile attacked and started attacking us. It wasn't long after that you guys came to, and well, you know the rest. Mind telling us what happened to you three?"

Celine frowned. "We just went through trials that would help us in the long run, and the rewards were these," she lifted her wrist up for emphasis. "Drexel was the only one who got something extra, but it's only to help his partner evolve. Oh! That reminds me!"

She patted herself until a small orb fell onto the ground. She picked it up and examined it before smiling and looking at Aiden. Standing straight once more, she handed the orb to Aiden who only stared at it in confusion. "During the trials we also got the orbs we needed to make you stronger!"

Lizette jumped onto Aiden's shoulder and examined the small orb in his paw. She'd never seen anything like it. She looked at Aiden from the corner of her eyes, noticing that he seemed memorized by it. "Aiden?"

At the mention of his name, he snapped out of whatever haze he was in. "Yeah?"

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," he said with a smile. "I just feel… a connection to this orb."

"We should go to the shop back home," Celine said with a big smile, putting her hands behind her in an innocent manner. "So that we can get something to attach this orb to make a cool necklace!"

He made a face. "I'm a boy. I don't wear-" He stopped immediately seeing the deadpanned look she was giving him. He chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Y-yeah! A necklace! …It sounds like a wonderful idea!"

Celine smiled brightly when he submitted to her will. That smile slowly faded when Drexel and his team walked over. Rumi was the next to come over, leaving Donte to take care of Nova.

"What should we do now?" he asked. "From the looks of it, Icy is the one that Jirachi mentioned."

"She just _had_ to be the right hand to that bully…" Rumi grumbled.

Celine closed her eyes in thought. She didn't see the looks of confusion she was getting from Lizette, Aiden, Aldous, and Fiona. "There's nothing we _can_ do right now," she said, opening her eyes when she came to the sad conclusion. "We have other issues we need to tend to. We should take care of those first before we even try to help Jirachi."

"Um, you're forgetting that we're clueless over what you three are talking about over here," Lizette said with a huff.

"Oh, sorry," Celine chuckled weakly. "After we completed our trials, Jirachi came to us telling us that she was the one who summoned us here. Of course, our main objective is to complete our main mission, but she also wanted us to fulfill her wish. She never really told us what she wanted, but if I were to take a guess… she wants us to show Icy that she isn't a pokémon, but an actual human _turned_ into a pokémon by mistake."

"Then that settles it," Drexel said, folding his arms in front of his chest. "We're going home, gathering whatever we need, and find those towers. Celine-"

"I know," she said with a determined look. "I'll have to find out where the missing pokémon are being brought to. If I can find that, then chances are we'll find out who is behind this."

She looked all around the group, a fierce determination seen in her eyes. "We're no longer playing games anymore. From here on out, things will become increasingly difficult. We need to lean on each other for support if need be. Now let's go home, rest up, and begin the journey to our next objectives: stop the dark army and cure the Towers of Geoma and Spirals!"

-x-x-x-x-

Icy was back in her office, staring blankly at the ceiling. She was thinking over what happened while she was in Sparkling Grove. Before the small, star-like pokémon had a chance to really say anything else, her master had used his power to get her out of there. In all honesty, she was partially grateful for it. But she was still curious…

The things that Jirachi mentioned were swirling around in her brain. She closed her eyes. Was it true? Was she really a human and not a pokémon? No, she couldn't have been a human! There was just no way, right? But then, if that were true, why didn't she have normal parents like other sneasels? And why could she shake the feeling that what Jirachi said was true?

A knock at her door brought her out of her thoughts. "Come in," she said, not particularly caring who it was.

The door opened, revealing a prinplup guard. The prinplup walked in front of her desk and bowed. "Our Lord has requested your presence, Lady Icy."

Icy sighed and got off of her chair. "Very well. You are dismissed."

Bowing once more, the prinplup immediately left the room. What could it be that her Master required her presence? With this thought at the foremost part of her brain, she traveled to the throne room.

Once there, she noticed that all of the guards were out of the room. She jumped slightly when she heard her Master, "Icy, I am glad that you have come."

"I couldn't deny the request of my own Master," she said, bowing in front of him. "Not that I would do so anyway. What is it that you have called me here for?"

At first her Master said nothing. "Did Jirachi say something to trouble you so?"

Icy said nothing. She was afraid to ask the validity behind the jirachi's words. Whenever she was insulted, she shrugged it off like it was no big deal. But that was different this time around. Jirachi hadn't meant to use her words as an insult, despite how Icy felt. She could deny it all she wanted, but for some unspeakable reason, she felt something telling her that Jirachi wasn't lying. It was driving her crazy! She didn't want to know the truth, but at the same time… she couldn't help but wonder.

She looked up at him, using a phrase she had not used in a very long time. "Am I a human turned pokémon, father?"

The use of this old phrase made the shadowed pokémon pause. He hadn't heard her say that in years, and he felt nostalgic the moment he heard her say father. But his endearing moment didn't last long.

"Whatever makes you ask that?"

Icy looked down, shuffling around nervously. "Jirachi said that I was brought here by mistake from the human world; that I'm not an actual pokémon, but a human turned pokémon. And part of me can't shake the feeling that she is right. So, father, is it true?"

Five long minutes passed. His silence did nothing but confirm the pokémons fears. She stared at him with wide eyes, tears now running down her cheeks. "N-no," she choked, backing away. "It can't be! Father, please tell me that it isn't so!"

The shadowed pokémon moved from the shadows, startling the weavile. He came into the light, revealing his true form: a zekrom. He was wearing a rather sad expression, a look that told Icy that he desperately wished that it wasn't the truth.

She collapsed to the ground and began sobbing loudly. He reached for her, bringing her into the palm of his hand gently. When he brought her close enough, she clung to his chest and stayed there, sobbing her heart out. He slowly sat there, not wanting to disturb her. He let her cry until she was hiccupping and sniffling.

"I wish I could tell you that what she said was a lie," he said softly, "but unfortunately that is not the case."

"But you hate the human turned pokémon!" she said bitterly. "That means you hate me as well!"

"I don't hate you, Icy. I could never hate you. I knew it was not your fault that you were dragged into our world. I knew that the moment I found you as a sneasel."

She looked up at him, her eyes puffy from crying. "Then aren't we being hypocritical? Our purpose is to eliminate the human turned pokémon that are here. I'm one of them. If other pokémon knew this and started questioning you-"

"But there is a difference between you and the other human turned pokémon," he said. He looked off in the distant. His glare made Icy shiver. "For a while now, pokémon who have gained the ability to call humans have called them down every time there was a slight issue going on in our world. They've become dependent on this ability, disgracing us other pokémon along the way. They treat the rest of us as if we are weak and that we cannot handle these problems on our own."

"And that's not even the worst part of it," he snarled. "They let these _humans_ stay because they can't remain firm in their conviction. They tell them that they have to return to the world in which they came from, only to let them return weeks later. More and more of these human turned pokémon pop up everyday. Pokémon have become so dependent on them now, it's like they tell the rest of us who don't rely on them that they have no need for us."

He looked back at Icy, his eyes softening. "Unfortunately you were dragged into this world without the ability to return back. And since you were so young, you were unable to understand the circumstances. But allow me to ease your worries about one thing. You are my daughter. You are a pokémon, not a human. You were raised as one of us."

She never moved her eyes away from him, only seeing love and truth in them. She lowered her head. Just knowing that she was a human in reality was enough to hurt her pride, but that didn't seem to matter. Not to the pokémon father who raised her. And in all honesty, it really didn't matter.

"I understand if you do not wish to continue in our pursuits to eliminate the human turned pokémon here. I believe in the fact that human turned pokémon are upsetting the balance of our world, thus I will not stop. You will be the only exception I would ever make."

"No, father," she said looking at him with a smile. "I wish to continue with you. As you said, I am not a human. I am a pokémon. I was raised as such."

He gave her a small smile. He was extremely proud of her. "For now, Icy, it's best you take some time off and get some sleep."

Lowering the palm of his hand, he watched as she carefully got off. With one last smile in his direction, she bade him farewell and left the room.

But along the room, she began to feel strange. It was strange to know that she was actually a human. But what really got to her was what he said about her being the only exception. Was that fair? …No, it wasn't. If she had the chance, would she return to the human world? Heck no! She knew nobody from that world!

She was in a different situation than most human turned pokémon, that much was true, but she just couldn't look at their situation the same anymore.

_Technically, it's not the human turned pokémons fault for being called here. It would be the pokémon that summoned them here._ She froze at that thought, her eyes growing in horror. She shook her head furiously. _No! It's their fault!_

_But why is it their fault if they were summoned into this world? Were they not called into this world with no memory of their human life? How was it their fault that they forged bonds in order to survive in this strange world? _

Icy held her head in pain. _No! Stop it! Lies! It's their entire fault! They knew that the balance of our world would be tipped if they stayed; yet they did!_

The voice in the back of her mind said nothing more. She was grateful for that, but now she was even more confused. Her heart was conflicted about all of this. She shook her head once more. No, she would _not_ betray her father. She would fight with him to the bitter end. He raised her despite his hatred for the human turned pokémon and viewed her as his own daughter.

The walk back to her office was long. No matter what she thought, her conviction for this upcoming battle was beginning to waver.


	19. Evolution in Sadness

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 18: Evolution in Sadness

Celine yawned as she sat up, stretching as she did so. The walk home had been silent and uneventful. Each team was absorbed in their own thoughts. Celine had been particularly lost in her own thoughts. While Rumi and Drexel could ask Celebi for directions, Celine was unable to. Nobody knew where the Dark Army was holding up, and time was running out.

She rested her elbow on her knee and leaned into the palm of her hand as she stared off into space. Where could she begin looking? She was very doubtful that she could just ask around and get answers. If someone knew where they were holding up, then chances were someone would have told the Rescue and Exploration Team Headquarters.

_Ma…_

Celine's ears twitched as she examined the room. Did she just hear something? No, it must've been her imagination because there was nobody else in her room.

_Mallow…burn…_

She looked around once more for the voice, but still found nothing. She raised an eyebrow as she thought to herself, _Okay; I'm finally going crazy. I'm hearing voices in my head now._

_Mallowburn…Palace…_

"Who's there?" she asked, still looking around her room. She was starting to get a little paranoid. Then she thought of a theory; was it possible that Jirachi was trying to contact her and tell her where to go?

_Go to…Mallowburn…Palace…! …Dark…Army…there!_

Celine furrowed her eyebrows. The Dark Army was at a place called Mallowburn Palace?

_Can…hear…_

"I can't hear you so well," Celine said, partially thinking she was crazy for talking aloud. "Is Mallowburn Palace the place where the Dark Army is? Who are you?"

She sat there in anticipation, but heard nothing more from the mysterious voice. She frowned inwardly. Just who was that? And what was so special about Mallowburn Palace? _Where_ the heck was Mallowburn Palace?

"Celine?" came Lizette's voice as she knocked on her door. "You awake?"

"Yeah, gimme a minute!" Celine said, getting to her feet and brushing herself off. Once she thought she was presentable, she walked over to the door and opened it. Immediately she could see Aiden leaning against the doorway to the living room. He appeared to be talking to someone.

Lizette smiled up at her. "Sleep well?"

The fox-like pokémon nodded. "Yeah. What about you?"

"Slept like a kitten!"

Celine giggled at Lizette's toothy grin. Walking past her, the two walked towards the living room.

"I don't care what you say. I'm coming with you." Celine heard Grovyle said. "There is no way I'm letting you go find this place on your own."

"Look," Aiden began, his tone suggesting he was a little agitated, "I understand that you want to find your friends, but this is just too dangerous. You guys are recovering from a fatal attack."

When she got closer, she could see that Grovyle was glaring at Aiden. Silver was sitting beside the grass-type, also looking very determined to follow Celine and her team.

"I agree with Grovyle," he stated, "Vivian and Annabelle need us. They are our teammates."

"Look, I appreciate-"

"We're diamond rank," snapped Silver. "We aren't as weak as you perceive us to be. We got knocked out once; that hardly happens. Team PokéStars, as a whole, is strong. Our strength does not come from Vivian or Annabelle alone."

Aiden groaned, rubbing his temples as he shook his head. "I'm not saying you guys are weak. I know for a fact that you guys are incredibly strong. What I'm trying to tell you is that things will get rough."

"I really do hate saying this," he said with an exhausted sigh, "but there's a high chance that Vivian and/or Annabelle are being controlled. That means that we might be faced up against them. I don't want to force you into attacking your own leaders, or watch us beat them senseless."

Grovyles face twisted in pain slightly at the mention that his friends might be under the enemies influence. Silver, on the other hand, only narrowed his eyes in determination. "I'm aware of that, but they are our teammates. Should you come to face them then it would be best if you left them to _us._ We know all their moves, their patterns, and could easily counter them."

"Whoa," Grovyle said, looking baffled at Silver's suggestion. "Are you suggesting that we'll _fight_ them?! I could never raise my claws against Annabelle or Vivian!"

Silver sighed and shook his head. "I don't fancy the idea of having to face them either, but I rather _we_ face them than let them distract Celine and her team. They might come to if we try reasoning with them, or even knock them out. If that doesn't work, then we can be the distractions Celine and her team need in order to fight the pokémon behind all of this."

Aiden frowned and folded his arms in front of his chest. He still looked hesitant on letting them come along.

"We thank you for wanting to assist us," Celine said, walking up beside Aiden. "but that might be for a while yet. Where are Rumi and Drexel?"

Grovyle scratched the back of his head. "Celebi went off to see them. She told me that they plan to go to the towers. We're left to look for where the Dark Army is hiding."

"I think I might have a lead on that," she said with a small smile.

Aiden looked alarmed. "Did you have another nightmare?"

She shook her head. "No. Call me crazy if you want, but there was a voice telling me to check out a place called Mallowburn Palace. They also mentioned the Dark Army, so I'm thinking that's where they are."

"Who would be telling you this?" Grovyle asked. "I'm aware that Celebi knows how to use telepathy, but I don't think she even knew where to look."

"I think it was Jirachi," Celine said with a slight frown.

Aiden didn't look convinced. "I thought you told me that she has a limited reach for psychic reach in her prone state - unless she's awake. That would explain her appearance in front of us a few days ago."

"No, I'm convinced that was just a holograph or something," Celine said with a shake of her head. "Since we were nearby, her powers there were stronger so she was able to do that. But now we're far away."

"Regardless of that," Silver said, "we should check this place out. Now, Celine," he said, gaining her attention, "should we wait for the others to return to the base after completing their missions?"

Celine frowned; she hadn't thought of that. Rumi and Drexel were tasked with restoring whatever was going wrong at the two towers and she was tasked with stopping the Dark Army, but did that mean that she couldn't get help from Rumi and Drexel? No, would it be fair that she asked them for help? They had to handle the towers, and she was sure that they weren't going to be easy.

With her eyes filled with determination, she decided that she would handle this mission alone with her team and some help from Silver and Grovyle. She would leave behind a note for the other two teams, if they wanted to help, but she knew that this was _her_ mission.

"I'll leave behind a note," she said, folding her arms together, "but this is my mission. It wouldn't be fair to ask them to help me when they're already tasked with taking care of the towers. With that in mind, let's start prepping up."

Grovyle and Silver were the first ones to leave. From the look in Silver's eyes, she knew that they were going to be stocking up big time. There were multiple risks in this mission, and it wasn't meant to be taken lightly. She just hoped that they remained safe.

Lizette walked into the living room with her arms folded and with a thoughtful expression. "What's up, Liz?"

She looked over to Aiden and Celine. "I'm worried. Aiden has already evolved and is strong. He also has the lucarionite. I'm already evolved, but I'm stilling learning the functions of battle. You're strong, Celine, but you haven't reached your last evolution. Aren't we jumping into this pre-maturely?"

"Evolved or not, I can't wait for that," Celine said with a pitiful look. "Time is of the essence. I can't keep wasting time, doing missions, and whatnot just to evolve. I'll find a way to get through, but if things get too rough, I want the two of you to _leave._ No questions asked."

"Oh heck no," Aiden said angrily. "We are _not_ abandoning you."

"I would rather you abandon me than get caught and hurt because of me!" Celine said, glaring at him.

He huffed. "I'm not abandoning you."

"Neither of us are," Lizette said, joining his side. "You've done a lot for us, Cel, there's no way that we're going to leave you behind when the going gets tough."

Celine groaned, her face falling. "But…I don't want to see you two get hurt because of me…"

"We won't," he said.

She stared at the two pokémon. She had a bad feeling in her gut, and she honestly didn't want to see them get hurt. But they were stubborn, and she knew that no matter how much she protested they weren't going to leave.

She was startled out of her thoughts when there was a knock at her door. Lizette ran past Aiden and went towards the door. Aiden and Celine were entering the hallway when she opened the door and revealed their guest. "Zoroark!"

Zoroark was standing at their door with an unreadable expression. His eyes locked on Celine immediately, making the vixen pokémon wince a bit. Becoming serious, she walked over to him and gave him a smile. "Hello Zoroark, what do we owe the pleasure for your visit?"

"I heard you were planning to fight the Dark Army."

She couldn't hide the shock written all over her face. "H-how…"

"Jirachi is a good friend of mine. She contacted me and told me that you were most likely going to Mallowburn Palace. Since she was worried about you, she asked me to tag along."

Celine shook her head with a smirk. "Remember what you told me? Sorry, but we aren't taking non-team members on our mission."

He mirrored her smirk, mildly amused by her challenge. "So then you would challenge me?"

"Well, if that's the only way you'll join the team, then yes. Non-members are not allowed to come due to how serious this mission will be."

He chuckled and walked out to the large field in front of the base. "Then come and amuse me, little fox. We'll see if you've got what it takes to handle the Dark Army."

Aiden was about to follow, but Celine stopped him. "No. I'm doing this alone."

He was about to protest, but one glare from her stopped him. Lizette walked up beside him the moment that Celine followed the other fox-like pokémon out into the field. She put a paw on Aiden's leg reassuringly. Despite the small feline's comfort, Aiden was still worried.

Celine stood far across from Zoroark who was already in a battle stance. She took a deep breath and also got into a battle stance. "At your ready."

A few seconds passed with neither moving. Their eyes were locked on each other; both anticipating the others moves. Zoroark was the first to move. He lunged towards her with his claws raised. His claws were thick with shadows, a move that Celine knew to be shadow claw. She waited until he was just about in front of her to sidestep and dodge the move. She kicked him away, and after bringing out her stick, called out several bluish-white flames. Zoroark was unable to dodge the bluish-white flames, enduring the heat of the flames. He winced at the pain, and snarled at Celine.

She didn't seem to be bothered by his display of anger. Instead, she took a couple of steps back with her flame-ignited stick held in front of her protectively. Her eyes narrowed the minute that she noticed that he was being covered with a dark aura.

In response to this, she allowed fire to cover her body in preparation for a flame charge attack. With a roar, he released the dark aura and sent it hurling in her direction. She ran towards it, her speed increasing with each step that she took before leaping into the air, barreling through his dark pulse attack and into him.

Upon impact, she immediately jumped back when he retaliated with shadow-covered claws. She stumbled backwards a bit when there were multiple Zoroarks around her. She stood there, frantically searching for the real Zoroark. From behind her, Zoroark jumped into the air and slashed her with a night slash attack. She let out a painful cry and attempted to fire back, but he quickly jumped back and once again surrounded her with multiple copies of himself.

This repeated until the braixen fell to her knees, panting from exhaustion. Zoroark taunted her, "Is that the best you've got? I'm severely disappointed. As it stands, you've made little to no progress from when you were just a fennekin!"

"I…I have too!" she yelled. "I'm stronger than I was back then!"

"Just because you're stronger doesn't necessarily mean that you're better." She let out another painful cry when she received a punch to the face. He vanished back into his numerous copies before she could even retaliate. "If this is all you've got, then you've got _no_ chance of defeating the Dark Army! Those you love will perish, and it'll be all because of _you!_"

"Shut UP!" she screeched, sending out a powerful psychic wave. Even though it wasn't effective against the dark-type, it still made him stop. He was surprised that she even tapped into her psychic abilities.

This moment of surprise was what she needed. She spun around and released an intense blast of all-consuming fire. It hit Zoroark, making him cry out in pure agony. He managed to shake off the pain once the fire disappeared and lunged after Celine. "You're going to pay for that!"

She was unable to avoid the pitch-black shock wave he sent. She endured the hit, but was unable to endure the punch to the stomach. She tried lashing out with her new psychic attack, but it did nothing but infuriate the zoroark in front of her. He slashed down his claws, effectively hitting her with his night slash, and sent her barreling into a nearby tree.

Barely conscious, she slid to the ground. Zoroark folded his arms, looking unimpressed. "I had seriously hoped that you would be stronger than that. While you managed to catch me off guard with your psychic abilities, it still did nothing for you in the end. You are _still_ the _weakest_ out of your human friends."

Even in her barely conscious state, the words still stung. She closed her eyes and looked away, trying her hardest not to cry.

"Hey! Stop bullying her!" Lizette yelled. "That's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair!" Zoroark yelled back, glaring at the small feline. "She'll be in a life or death situation, and if this is the best she can do, then she will _not_ make it. If she can't defeat me, then she will never be able to defeat the enemy. I can tell you right now that they will be ten times stronger than I am."

He scoffed. "And your bonds with her are weak. She must not care about you or Aiden if this is the best she can do. She has no chance in protecting you two, or the pokémon world. If she _truly_ cared, then she would not give up so easily. Yet I see her slumped over there, ready to cry because she knows I'm right! She is a pathetic excuse for a friend, and a pathetic excuse for a human turned pokémon."

Then he said something that made something inside of the braixen snap. "She cares nothing for the pokémon of this world, and she certainly does not care about you two."

"That…" came the weak voice of Celine, her tone slowly growing higher from her rage, "IS NOT TRUE!"

He spun around just in time to watch as a pillar of light engulfed the infuriated braixen. He fought to keep a straight face; this was the goal he'd been trying to get all along.

Zoroark didn't have the time to admire the pillar of light. Not even moments after she was engulfed in the light did Celine shoot out of it, covered in fire, and slammed directly into him. The impact sent him flying into the team base, leaving an imprint on the wall as he slid down. The force of his impact was enough to shake the team base, causing Aiden to grab Lizette and avoid the base.

The newly evolved delphox stalked towards him, her face contorted in anger. "How _dare_ you claim that I don't care?" she seethed. "I have done nothing _but_ fight to protect everyone that I love! I will not let anyone hurt those I love! I WILL DIE BEFORE THAT EVER HAPPENS!"

A powerful mystical flame attack was fired towards Zoroark. Aiden and Lizette, seeing that Zoroark wasn't getting up or even moving, ran over to Celine and pulled her away. "Celine, stop it!"

The crazed look in her eyes quickly vanished. She blinked, and then looked around confusedly. Eventually her eyes settled on the unconscious Zoroark. "W-what happened?!" She looked to Aiden, surprised to see that she was slightly taller than him now. "Why are you so short all of a sudden…?"

Aiden and Lizette stared at her. Neither could believe that the newly evolved delphox couldn't remember what had happened in the past few minutes.

She winced a little under their stares. "What? Is there something on my face or something?"

"You don't remember _anything_ from the past few moments?" Aiden asked.

Celine shook her head no.

Lizette gawked at her. "You evolved _and_ beat the crud out of Zoroark! Oh! Zoroark!" she cried, running over to his unconscious body.

"I…evolved?" Celine gasped, examining herself. "H-how? When?"

"Just now," Aiden replied, grabbing her hand to calm her down. "Are you okay?"

"I can't remember anything after I fainted…" she murmured, looking uncomfortable. "It's all a blank. Other than that, I feel fine…"

Aiden sighed, relieved to know that she was all right. "I think he egged you on, on purpose." He looked over to the downed pokémon. "Though I think he got more than he bargained for."

"I just remember him saying some real mean things… then I lost my cool and… that's it." Celine frowned. "Will he be okay?"

Silver and Grovyle were walking along the path back when they noticed the downed pokémon. She could tell by the looks on their faces that something big had just transpired. And she remembered nothing of it.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Aiden said, folding his arms. "Can't say that I feel bad for him. Kinda had it coming."

"Aiden!" she scolded.

He shrugged. "Hey! With everything he was saying, what did he expect? You to evolve and throw flowers around?"

Celine felt relief wash over her when she saw Zoroark stir. She rushed over to him and knelt beside him. Silver and Grovyle were staring at her, both surprised to see her in her final evolved form. "That…was pretty…impressive…" Zoroark said weakly, smiling wearily.

"I'm so sorry!" she said, a look of shame etched on her face. "I honestly don't know what came over me!"

"No, that was good," he said. "That's the type of strength you need to face off against your enemy."

"So, does that mean you're now a member of Team Cosmic?" Aiden asked idly. Celine shot the lucario a glare.

Zoroark chuckled. "She beat me fair and square. If you don't mind me, then yes, I would love to be a member of the team."

"I don't think _beat_ would be the correct term for what I did to you…" she winced.

"Yo…" came Jaxon's drowsy voice, "who the heck caused the earthquake?"

Celine winced once more, feeling even guiltier of what happened. "Sorry…"

Jaxon glared at her, but then blinked to adjust his eyes better. He stared at her for a long, good moment. "Celine?!"

"Who the heck didja think I was?!" she asked.

"I like the new look!" he said, running around her to check her out. "You look like a force to be reckoned with!"

Zoroark chuckled, biting his tongue from cracking a joke. Jaxon saw him and blinked. "Dude, who did a number on you?"

"ANYWAY," Celine said, wanting a change of subject, "how are you going to come with us in that shape?"

"Just give me a couple of Oran berries and a Rawst berry and I'll be fine," he replied, closing his eyes. Lizette ran off into the house to retrieve the requested berries while the others stayed with him.

"We're all set," Silver said, notifying Celine and Aiden. "We're ready to go whenever you're ready to go."

Celine frowned. She still didn't want them to come. The worry must've been evident on her face because they narrowed their eyes in determination. There was nothing that she could say that would stop them. They were coming, whether she liked it or not.

"Give us about a half an hour," she said, giving in. "Zoroark should be healed up by then. In the meantime, it's probably best my team also preps up for the adventure."

Silver and Grovyle both looked happy that she wasn't going to argue with them. They helped Zoroark to his feet, with the help of Jaxon and eventually Lizette (who was using her psychic powers to lift him), into the house. This left Celine and Aiden outside of the base.

She looked rather worried still. Everything bad that might happen during their trip was playing tricks on her mind and her confidence. She looked at Aiden when she felt him put a paw on her shoulder. "Calm down. Psyching yourself out won't help."

"Easier said than done," she murmured. "You're not the one with the entire world's safety on your shoulders."

"No, I'm not," he admitted, "but I do know that if you stress out about it, everything you fear will become a reality. Take a deep breath and calm down. I promise you that nothing bad will happen. I'll be there, Lizette will be there, and Team PokéStars will be there. And, if they finish their missions up early, so will Team Invincible Hope, Team Solar Spiral, and maybe even Team Echo Hearts. This isn't a small battle we're talking about. And I can guarantee you right now that everyone who is able-handed will attend and help."

"But that's the thing," she groaned. "I don't want others to involve themselves… Aiden, how can I save them if they get hurt and I'm too busy?"

"Everyone who goes to this fight is well aware of the risks," he said.

She still didn't look all that convinced. He frowned, and then looked around to see if anyone was around. When he saw none, he leaned in close to her face. She blushed. "Wha…"

Celine didn't finish her sentence. Aiden had pressed his mouth against hers, causing her to blush even more fiercely. Eventually, though, she closed her eyes and kissed him back. They didn't pull away until they needed air.

He smirked up at her. "Did that help?"

She still had a dreamy look in her eyes. "Yeah…"

"Celine, would you hate me if I said something rather…strange?" he asked suddenly.

Celine was slack-jawed; surprised that he would even think she would hate him. "Why in the world would I hate you?"

"Because this will change our relationship," he said, looking serious. He took a hold of her hands and held onto them tightly. She looked down at their hands briefly before looking back at him curiously. Was he going to do what she thought he was about to do?

"I think you're pretty."

The surprise from her face vanished. "Are you serious?" she deadpanned.

"Completely."

She could feel an eye twitch developing above her right eye. _That_ was not what she was expecting. She sighed and closed her eyes. He just _had_ to ruin the moment with that outrageous comment! Right after their kiss, too! She'd been hoping that he would tell her how much he loved her, how much he wanted her to be his, but nope! Instead he just commented on how pretty she was. In all honesty, she was near close to slapping him.

Aiden, on the other hand, was confused by her reaction. "Celine?"

"Yes?"

"What's with the reaction?"

"Nothing," she grumbled, removing her hands and getting to her feet.

He just sat there and pouted. "Were you expecting something else?"

"Nope," she said, turning away.

"You were expecting something else."

"No I wasn't."

"Yes you were."

"Keep this up and I'll slap you."

She almost missed the mischievous glint in his eyes. "And what the heck are you smiling about?"

"I think you were expecting something else."

"Oh for the love of… no I wasn't!"

"I love you."

"I said I wasn't – wait, what?" she asked, wondering if she heard him right.

"I said that I love you," he said with a smirk. "I just wanted to see how'd you react to me just saying you were pretty."

She wore a deadpanned expression, the twitch above her right now growing. "Do you know how much I want to kill you right now?"

"Aww, you don't return the feelings?" he asked with mock hurt.

She opened her mouth to say something, but immediately closed it. She wanted to say that she did, but Rumi's words were echoing in her ears.

"_What if we don't have the choice that others have? What if we can't come back? We'll be leaving this world behind, and all the pokémon that we've come to love and work with. Our leaving will hurt them because they know they'd never see us again."_

Celine turned away from Aiden to prevent him from seeing her hurt expression. She didn't want him to see the tears in her eyes. She wanted nothing more than to embrace him and tell him that she did return the feelings. But she didn't want to disappoint him when she left.

Aiden took this the wrong way. His mischievous smirk faded, replaced with a doleful expression. He felt more of his heart shattering than he did the embarrassment from the actions he had just done. He got to his feet and down casted his gaze.

"I see," he said. "I made a fool of myself then. If you need anything, I'll be helping the others in the base." He walked past her and into the base. She watched him, feeling her own heart shatter.

_Oh you have no idea how much I want to say I do,_ she thought as she wept bitterly.


	20. The Tower of Geoma Part 1

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 19: The Tower of Geoma Part 1

\- Before their trip -

Drexel folded his arms in front of him with fixed expression. He was staring at their new team base. It was larger than he had anticipated. It was a wooden, two-story house with plenty of windows to let in the light. There was a small garden growing in front of the house with a small pond not too far away. Hedges were placed along the pathway to the door. All in all, it looked like a really cool place.

Except for the mailbox.

He _hated_ it.

It was a mini version of his head with a pull out tongue serving as the place where mail would go. There was a mini yellow flag on the right side. It was currently down since they had no mail, but it was only a matter of time before it was pointed upward.

He wore a glowering expression every time he looked at it. It looked absolutely ridiculous, but Aldous and Fiona liked it. They thought it was cool and unique. A clear picture of who led the team, or so they put it.

And that gave him more than enough of a reason to hate it.

He sighed and shook his head. He hadn't expected to wake up the next morning to find out that their base was finished. It wasn't like he'd be using it. After all, Team Invincible Hope would be traveling to the Tower of Geoma, then after that, they planned to help Team Cosmic with the fight against the Dark Army.

"Still glaring at the mailbox?" came a familiar voice. "If you keep staring at it like that, the pokémon around here are going to think you've lost it."

Drexel turned to see Fiona. She was no longer the floette, but a newly evolved florges. True to her word, she evolved when they got home. And boy, did she look beautiful! She smelled nice too, but Drexel planned to keep _that_ bit of information to himself.

"I hate it," he grumbled, turning his glare back on the mailbox. "It looks out of place."

"I think it compliments it!"

"That's what you said about the pink ribbon you attached to my ear when I first got here too."

She chuckled at the fond memory. "Hey, it looked adorable on you!"

"Do you know how many pokémon questioned my sexuality when I entered Town Square with that thing on?" he asked, eying her from the corner of his eye. "They didn't believe me when I told them I was a male."

Fiona rolled her eyes. "Oh shush. They believed you soon enough, didn't they?"

"Yeah, but only _after_ I removed the bow."

"Just another fond memory in the treasure chest," she said, looking at their base. "I hope we can fill it up some more."

He didn't say anything for a bit. He just stood there, thinking. All their memories, all the fights, and all the things they said to each other. They certainly did provide him with a good chuckle or two. But then he wondered: what would happen after their mission?

"Fiona, if I were to disappear, what would you do?" he asked without thinking.

She looked at him in surprise. She hadn't thought of that, nor did she really even think it was possible due to there being a bunch of other human turned pokémon. "Drexel? Whatever are you going on about? Why would you disappear when there are many human turned pokémon living here?"

"I'm just saying it as a theory."

"Well, in theory, I would be heartbroken. Life around here just wouldn't be the same without you. But…if you had no choice in the manner, and you had to disappear, then I'd make sure that your team would live on. I would make sure to spread your heroic's through our lands, and tell everyone that our team was created and led by a wonderful man." She smiled sadly.

"You don't need to do that," he said.

She shook her head. "No. I must. Remember the story I told you about concerning Vivian and Annabelle after they defeated Diagla? Well, I would do exactly that. I would tell everyone about the heroics of Team Invincible Hope, Team Solar Spiral, and Team Cosmic. Even if you aren't here, your heroics will live on."

"You're acting as if this will be my funeral," he chuckled, making her blush.

"Well excuse me for wanting to keep your legend alive!"

"I'm no legend, Fiona. I never will be. I'm just someone who was called down to stop another disaster from striking." He had an absent look in his eyes, as if he wasn't paying much attention to the conversation anymore. "What about Aldous?"

"What about him?" she asked.

"How do you think he would take my disappearance, or rather leaving?"

She eyed Drexel from the corner of her eyes. Just what was wrong with him? He never acted this soft, or show worry for others. He was always the type of guy who held it in, and didn't let others know what he was thinking. She felt bad for thinking it, but she believed that he didn't care too much about the other members of Team Hope.

With a sigh, she looked to the sky. "He would be heartbroken too. He likes you, you know. You're like an older brother to him. He's never had anyone else – besides me – who credited him on his genius. Thankfully, he would have a girl to keep his mind off of it."

Drexel chuckled. "Lizette, huh?"

"You know it's coming. Once he works up the nerve, those two will be married and have kittens. Goodness, I wonder what their kittens would be like! If they're energetic like their father, then poor Lizette will have such a disaster on her hands!" she laughed.

He chuckled along with her. Their laughter soon died down and it was back to silence. Drexel was staring off into the sky thoughtfully. Fiona, on the other hand, was watching him from the corner of her eyes.

She lifted a hand and grasped it around Drexels. He looked down at her curiously. "I don't know what's going through your mind to have such depressing thoughts, but please don't worry. You won't vanish. There are countless human turned pokémon among us. What's three more?"

He was about to answer when he heard a familiar high-pitched voice. "Oh dear Drexel!~"

He had to refrain from letting the annoyance show on his face as the pink legendary flew in front of him with a big smile on her face. "Good morning!" she chirped. "How are you?"

"How in the world are you so loud in the morning? No, in fact, how are you so energized in the morning?" he countered with a frown. "That's not normal."

Celebi tilted her head quizzically. "It's not? I guess I'm just a morningmon!"

While she was laughing at her own joke, Drexel was cringing. _Do…not…make…a…snappy…comment…_ he told himself.

Fiona noticed the tick above his eye and smiled weakly. "Very funny, Celebi. But what do we owe the honor to have such a beautiful legendary in our presence?"

"Well, a couple of things," she said, checking out the base from where she floated. "First off I want to say congratulations on the new house! It looks adorable! Oh, and this mailbox is just divine!" she floated around the mailbox, admiring the craftsman work. Drexel, on the other hand, was back to his routine of glaring at it.

"And second off…" she reached into the small bag hanging around her and pulled out a map, "I came to give this to you."

As Drexel grabbed it and opened it to examine it, Celebi explained what it was. "It's a map to the Tower of Geoma. Strangely enough, it's not too far. A day and a half's walk, I say. I'm going to assume that there are bound to be a lot of strong pokémon there, so I would really stack up on items and the like. Also, do you remember the colors of the tower?"

"Yes. It was red, blue, and green, but not in that direct order."

"Good. Those are hints to what kind of terrain you'll be facing in there, especially with the pokémon. It should be pretty obvious – red for fire, blue for water, and green for earth. Remember to adjust yourselves accordingly," she said with a rare serious look on her face. "And most importantly, _be careful._"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes mom."

"I'm serious!" she said, flailing her arms around. "This is not a place to be taken lightly!"

"I'm aware of that," he countered.

"Is there anything else we should be cautious of?" Fiona asked.

Celebi tapped her chin in though. "I don't think so. I honestly can't tell you anymore than I have considering I've never really been _inside_ the tower. Everything I've told you is a mixture of truth and assumptions."

Drexel didn't like the sound of that. He wanted to cold, hard facts. Just having assumptions wasn't good enough in his book.

Fiona bought it though. It was better than nothing, and in her opinion, they were logical guesses. "Thank you Celebi. We'll be off shortly. Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna give Team Solar their map and explanation too!" Celebi brightened. "Then after that… I'm not sure. I might go with my dearest Grovyle and Team Cosmic."

"Well, if you happen to find the place where the Dark Army is hiding, then please tell Celine that we said not to be rash. We will be there as soon as we can," Fiona said, looking determined to finish their mission.

The legendary nodded her head eagerly. "Will do! Bye bye!" She flew off once she was done with her good-byes.

"I don't know whose worse," Drexel grumbled. "Her or Aldous. Both of them are energetic."

Fiona snickered. "It's refreshing to have someone around with a lot of energy. Helps us stay on our toes!"

"I'm always on my toes," he remarked.

She stared at him wide-eyed. "Did you just make a joke?"

"I dunno."

"You did! Wasn't very funny though. You better keep reading into comedy," she chuckled at his blank expression.

She turned back to the house, briefly wondering what in the world Aldous was doing that was taking so long. "Was he serious about those books?"

Drexel was about to reply when Aldous came out of the base with a stretch. "Everything has been organized! My books have been stacked, my room is clean and neat, and I am _ready_ to show off."

"Yep. He was serious."

"Aldous, we won't have the time to show off," she said, approaching him. He looked at her confusedly. "Celebi just visited us and gave us a map to the Tower of Geoma. It's best we make haste and leave shortly."

Aldous' eyes narrowed. "So, its already that time?"

Fiona nodded sadly, looking over to Drexel who also nodded. "I have no doubt that it will be difficult. We need to go to the storage facility and gather the items we need. And Aldous, this is not the time to visit your girlfriend."

"I wasn't going to say that," he said with a huff, "I was going to say that I would get the bag and we could leave now. After all, the quicker we finish, the quicker we can help Team Cosmic, right?"

Fiona nodded once more with a smile. "Yes. Alright, so this is what we're expecting…"

As she told Aldous everything she'd heard from Celebi, Drexel looked at the base once more. His thoughts from earlier were still bugging him. He'd heard that some pokémon returned to the human world, but what about him, Celine, and Rumi? Did they have to return? Or could they stay here?

He found himself scowling. He hardly remembered the human world. Why would he want to return? His human life must've not been that important if he didn't remember much more than his name, his humanity, and his age. But the voice of reason told him that it was most likely some form of spell intended to help him worry less about who he had been in the human world.

In the end it didn't matter, or so he thought. He was happy here in the pokémon world. He was content working with Fiona and Aldous and explore and/or rescue other pokémon that needed their help. He found a girl who he'd treasure dearly and a friend who, albeit crazy at times, he could count on when the going got tough. In his eyes, he was living the perfect life.

"Yo, frog breath!"

Drexel shot a glare down at Aldous who stared back at him with a huffy expression and both her hands on his hips. "Sheesh, daydreaming of your free time with Fiona already?"

"A-a-aldous!" Fiona cried out, blushing furiously.

"What?" he asked. "I know he likes you and I know you like him back! I'm just stating the obvious-"

"If you keep talking, then I promise you that you'll have a reason to fear me," Drexel snarled, immediately shutting the male meowstic up.

Aldous snorted and went into the base to retrieve a bag. With one last huff and a flick of his tails, he walked off into town.

"Where the heck is he going?" he asked.

"To retrieve the items needed for our mission," she said, a look of brooding in her eyes as she looked at him. "Weren't you listening?"

He shook his head. "No, sorry. I was thinking about something else. So, what are the plans here?"

Fiona just stared at him before releasing a sigh. "Aldous believes that it's logical to believe that there will be fire, water, and grass-types in the tower. Of course, he's thinking that they will be in their 'respected' section of the tower. Though he's not certain what level is first. He's planned according with berries and orbs, but we won't know what we're really facing until we get there. He'll be back within ten minutes though. Do you think that there is anything we should bring along?"

"We should be fine," he said. "If he's got the items, then there's nothing to worry about. The kids a genius when it comes to sectioning out what we need and don't need for the mission."

She nodded slowly and approached him. He watched her as she rested a hand on his wrist and on the mega bracelet. "We might have to use this… do you know if it has any side effects…? Are we even sure it'll work…?"

He shrugged. "Dunno. I'll be fine and you should be too." He looked at the florgesnite around her neck. "Jirachi wouldn't have given us this if she wasn't sure it would work and with no bad side effects."

She still didn't look all that convinced, but she wouldn't argue any further. They wouldn't know until they used it, and for better or for worse, she was hoping it wouldn't come to it.

After ten minutes, Aldous returned to the base with a bag full of items and orbs. Fiona was surprised to see how full it was and even asked him why it was that full. All he did was turn around and tell her that there was bound to be a lot of unexpected things happening, so he wanted to be prepared.

Fiona continued her protesting, saying that the bag looked far too heavy for him to be carrying. He argued that it was necessary and that he was fine. Back and forth they went, neither giving up.

"Okay, you two, knock it off," Drexel said, putting his hand on his hip.

Fiona frowned, but gave up. Aldous grumbled, but also gave up.

"Are we ready to get going?" he asked, looking off towards the forest.

"I'm all set!" Aldous chirped, puffing his chest out proudly. Fiona rolled her eyes, but nodded towards Drexel.

"Then let's get going," he said and began the long walk towards the Tower of Geoma.

-x-x-x-x-

Celebi was right. It only took them a day and a half to reach the place mentioned on the map. There was only one slight problem: it certainly didn't look like a tower.

Instead of there being a tower in front of them, as they had expected, it was just a plain, old grassy field. There were no noticeable towers, or anything remotely close to a tower in the area. And if they didn't know any better, there was nothing special about the place.

But Drexel _did_ sense something. He couldn't put his finger on it though. He was standing in front of the team with his arms crossed and his eyes locked on the field. He knew for a fact that neither Fiona nor Aldous felt anything; otherwise they would have said something. Instead, however, Aldous was ranting.

Aldous collapsed next to Drexel dramatically. He was panting heavily from the weight of the bag current tossed to the side of the meowstic. "Sheesh," he groaned, "I carried all that weight for nothing?"

"I told you that you brought too much, but you wouldn't listen!" Fiona said, folding her arms strictly.

"You know, ever since you evolved, you've been annoying!" Aldous groaned, covering his ears in an attempt to drain out her voice.

She gasped a bit at the insult, but otherwise said nothing. She just glared at him with one of her eyebrows raised. Looking over to Drexel, she asked, "So now what?"

He didn't answer her right away. "I'm not so sure. It certainly feels off around here, but… I don't see anything off."

While he contemplated about the field and why it felt off, Aldous continued his ranting beside him. Drexel toned him out, still examining the field, leaving poor Fiona to listen to his endless supply of rants. He got to his feet and started pacing behind the ninja-like pokémon.

"There is absolutely nothing _here!_ Celebi knows that time is of the essence, yet she sends us here? What the heck?! We don't have time to be frolicking around and enjoying the scenery! We could have been using this time to search for the _real_ location of the tower! But no, instead we had to listen to some shiny legendary who clearly didn't know the real location of the Tower of Geoma!"

"Now, now, I'm sure there is a reason-"

"A reason for what?" he snapped, "Making us waste time? I thought she said that the future looked dire, yet she's playing games!"

"You don't know that!" she said. "The tower might be nearby, we just have to look for it!"

"I'm _pretty_ sure that we would have noticed said tower! It's a _tower_, not some rinky dinky old _house_!"

Fiona was about to respond when Drexel spoke, "Unless it was hidden to prevent intruders from entering the place. Then anyone who is not aware of the tower just sees a plain field when in reality it's there."

Aldous furrowed his eyebrows together. "Well that is a possibility, but how in the world are we supposed to make it reveal itself? I thought that you being the chosen one and all would be enough!"

That's when the feline stopped in his tracks. His eyes locked on the mega bracelet around Drexel's wrist. "Unless there was an item that the chosen one needed in order to reveal the tower…"

He didn't waste time developing this new theory of this. He ran over to his friend's side and pointed towards the mega bracelet on Drexel's arm. "Stretch out that hand and point it towards the field. It might do something."

Drexel looked at him oddly, but complied.

What happened next surprised all of the members of Team Invincible Hope. The stone on the mega bracelet began to glow with a bright light, releasing a beam of light, which shot into the plains. The beam hit the center of another resonating stone floating high above the center of the plains. After a few minutes of nothing, the ground began to shake violently. Slowly the Tower of Geoma came into view, proving the male meowstics theory.

Once the tower was completely in view, the shaking stopped. A pathway from where the trio stood appeared and directed them to the entrance of the tower.

Fiona stood there gawking at the tower while Aldous tapped his chin, impressed with the display. "That's one heck of a security system. It's completely hidden from the naked eye unless someone has the 'key' to get in, or if you're a native of the tower, the knowledge of a secret pathway."

"It's just as I saw it in my dream," Drexel murmured, staring at the tower. The bottom of the tower was colored green, the middle being water, and the topmost portion of the tower being red.

"So our fight begins with grass-types," Aldous said with a calculating look, "Oh how joyous that'll be."

"After we complete the grass-type level, it should be smooth sailing from there, right?" Fiona asked.

Aldous shrugged. "That depends entirely on how strong the pokémon inside are. For all we know, it won't be smooth sailing at all."

"Jeez, thanks for the vote of confidence," she mumbled.

He looked at her with a deadpan expression. "Would you rather I sugarcoat everything instead?"

"No, but you could've said something along the lines of 'regardless of how strong the enemy is, we will persevere!'" she countered with a pout.

"Knock it off you two. Standing out here and discussing it won't get us anywhere. Let's move," he said, beginning the long march to the tower.

Aldous followed after him quickly. Fiona, however, lingered where she stood. For some indescribable reason, she had a bad feeling in her gut. Something was telling her that something bad was bound to happen while they were inside. That feeling along was enough to make the florges freeze in her spot.

"You coming or what?" Aldous called out to her.

"Y-yeah!" she said, hurrying after her teammates. _Just have to stay on my toes is all, _she thought worriedly. _And be observant of our surrounding area._

-x-x-x-x-

\- Tower of Geoma, Earth Level, Level 1 -

The tower was well lighted thankfully. The walls and floors were colored in various shades of green with floral life growing all over the place. There were even a couple of trees around the area, providing plenty of shelter for the enemy pokémon to hide in.

Currently, all three members of Team Invincible Hope were engaged in battle.

Drexel did a backflip to dodge one of his opponent's moves. He was currently facing off against a scolipede. The scolipede charged him, ramming its tail into Drexel. Drexel was able to block it with his arms, but he immediately felt sickly after. He knew that the attack had poisoned him, but that didn't stop him. Before the scolipede even had the time to turn, Drexel turned around and kicked the pokémon as hard as he could into the wall. He then charged the scolipede with his shadow-covered hand into the air. It took the shape of a three-fingered claw before he hurled it downward, slashing the scolipede and knocking it into unconscious.

Panting, he backed away from the downed pokémon and looked over to Aldous who was using his psychic ability to dodge each of his opponent's attacks. He was facing off against an infuriated simisage. It was obvious that the money-like pokémon was growing even more furious with each attack that missed and the smug look written all over Aldous' face. He let out a loud shriek, making everyone who heard it wince. Aldous in particular, having sensitive ears, had to cover his ears to block out the shrill cry. This moment of carelessness was all the grass-type needed as it called down three hard-shelled seeds and watched as the attack knocked the psychic to the ground with a hard thud.

The simisage was about to end it when Drexel intervened with his hydro pump, sending the grass-type barreling into a nearby wall. Drexel rushed to the felines side and stood in front of him protectively as the simisage got back onto it's feet shakily.

"I…I can handle it!" Aldous said, getting back to his feet. He noticed that Drexel wasn't look too good and, assuming that he was poisoned, tossed him a Pecha berry before jumping back into the fight.

"Now I'm angry!" Aldous shouted as his ears straightened out to reveal two more eyes. The four eyes glowed simultaneously as he called upon his strong telekinetic power. What followed was the simisage being plucked off the ground and repeatedly slammed into the wall until it fainted. He released the fainted pokémon, panting from using so much of his psychic power.

"Watch out!" He looked over just in time to become wrapped tightly in a serperior's grip. He let out a sharp gasp; he could feel his air supply being cut.

"Aldous, brace yourself and Drexel get out of the way!" Fiona yelled, a ray of silver light engulfing the fairy-type pokémon. She pointed her hand in the direction of the serperior and released a strong ray of moonlight. It hit the grass-type square in the face, forcing him to release his grip on Aldous who fell to the ground. Drexel jumped in, grabbed the coughing feline, and narrowly dodged a swipe of the angry serperior. He tossed down a smoke pellet, immediately obscuring the grass-types sight.

Once the cloud of smoke disappeared, the serperior saw Fiona as she raised both of her hands up into the air and summoned a strange, but powerful wind that sent the pokémon flying down one of the hallways and into a wall. The sound of him slamming against the wall echoed in the tower.

The trio stood there for a moment, each of them trying to gather their breaths.

"Well," Aldous began, "that went well!"

Fiona gave him a look. "How are you feeling? You were literally crushed!"

Aldous raised one of his arms and grinned. "I'm dandy! But that moonblast attack of yours is getting stronger!"

She blushed at the compliment. "Thank you."

Drexel straightened himself out and looked around for the stairs, not seeing them that far off. He was partially listening to his teammates as they complimented each other's work. "We're not out of the woods yet," he said, causing the two pokémon to pause, "that was only round one."

Aldous walked up beside him and flashed him a confident smile. "If the enemies are only this tough, then we're gonna be just fine. So as long as we're working together nobody – not even the scums of the Dark Army – can get in our way!"

He watched as Aldous scurried off to the stairs and sighed, a small smile on his face. Fiona strolled up beside him. "How are you handling yourself?"

"Sore," he admitted, rubbing the spot where he'd been stung, "but I'm still in commission. What about you? You usually need a break after fighting."

"Not this time," she smiled happily. "After evolving I feel as if I have enough power to power through a whole monster house! Though I'm hoping we don't face off against one of those," she quickly added.

He chuckled and began walking towards the stairs with her by his side. "How many levels do you think this place has?"

She frowned. "Not sure. It _is_ a mystery dungeon. It could have up to a hundred floors, but I'm hoping that we won't have that many here. But I've noticed a lot of places usually have up to twenty floors. Perhaps we'll have that."

"That sounds like a lot," he grumbled, not enjoying the prospect of having to travel through twenty floors.

Fiona giggled. "But who knows? We might only have three floors!"

"That's just wishful thinking and you know it."

She rolled her eyes and went on ahead after Aldous who was standing by the stairway and waving his hands. Drexel also picked up his speed and followed after his two teammates as they began climbing the stairs to the next level.

As you may have noticed, this chapter is filled with only Team Invincible Hope's journey. From here on out, I'll be separating the teams as they climb their respected towers and fulfill their missions. Each teams development from here on out is very important, as you will later see, and I thought it would be a good idea to show you their travels individually.

There will be little to no time lapse between the teams. Meaning while Team IH (Invincible Hope) climbs and conquers the Tower of Geoma, Team SS (Solar Spiral) is climbing the tower of Spirals, and so forth.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Also, happy 4th of July!


	21. The Tower of Spirals Part 1

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 20: The Tower of Spirals Part 1

\- Before their trip -

Rumi sat outside of their base with her eyes casted towards the sky. She was waiting for Nova to return from their request. After returning home last night, they decided that it was time to build a new, bigger base (which was great news for Donte, as he was never able to really fit into the base due to his size.) They had no reason to hide anymore. Their enemy knew that Rumi was one of the newly human turned pokémon.

She was proud to stand as one of three human turned pokémon. Before she'd been terrified, but now that was certainly not the case. Just knowing that there were two others like her was enough to give her confidence.

Rumi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The real challenge would begin now. She could no longer back down. She had to stand and fight. She had to add strength to the cause to save the captured human turned pokémon. Not just for her friends from Paradise, but for all the teams who missed their leaders and friends.

Truthfully, she was aware that saving the human turned pokémon was up to Celine, but Rumi liked to think that she was adding to that cause. She would be traveling to the Tower of Spirals, restoring whatever balance had been lost, and help those who had fallen under the sleeping curse to awaken once more.

"They approved!"

She opened her eyes to see her friend race down to her with a big grin on her face. "They said it's a go! We're gonna have a new base within two months! It'll be a great reward for completing our big mission at the Tower of Spirals!"

Rumi had to keep up the happy façade. She didn't want to ruin her friend's happiness with her depressed thoughts. "That's great," she said with a smile, "I'm sure our base will be awesome!"

"Oh heck yeah!" the swablu cried. "The build team is going to be here in a week. I was thinking that we could have a base that starts out on the floor, but builds up into the tree! So it'll be like a house, but with a tree house addition to it! What do you think?"

"That sounds wonderful!" Rumi said.

Nova went on with her happiness, completely oblivious to the sadness in her friend's eyes.

_I'm glad to know that they'll have something to be happy about once I'm gone,_ she thought, closing her eyes to stop the tears from flowing.

"Rumi?" Rumi snapped her eyes open at the mention of her name to see Donte staring at her. He was sitting on one of the tree branches sheltered from the daylight. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" she said with false cheer. "I'm just preparing myself mentally for the upcoming battle!"

"Speaking of which," he began, scratching his chin. "How should we begin our search for the Tower of Spirals?"

Rumi felt her heart drop. She really didn't want to go because she knew what would happen afterwards.

"Little, little Rumi!"

Her ears twitched upward and she looked up to see Celebi flying down to her with her arms wide open. The eevee had no time to dodge as Celebi scooped her up in her arms and hugged her tightly.

"C-can't…breathe…" she choked out.

"Oh, whoops, sorry!" Celebi said, relenting and releasing the little fox pokémon. Rumi fell onto the ground with a soft thud, wincing slightly as she sat up. Despite how small Celebi looked, she certainly had strength!

"What are you doing here?" Donte asked from where he was perched. "We hardly get visitors. _Especially_ legendary visitors."

Celebi giggled and opened up her bag and pulled out a map. "I came to deliver something!"

And, just as she had with Drexel and his team, she explained what the map was. "I've already given Team Invincible Hope their map, so they should be heading to the Tower of Geoma very soon. This is your map. It'll show you the way to the Tower of Spirals. It should take you no more than a day and a half to reach the place."

Her face became more serious. "I doubt that it'll be an easy mission. The enemies there are bound to be stronger than your average pokémon. I'm not entirely sure what type of pokémon lives there, so I honestly cannot give you any tips. The only safe tip I can give you is to stack up on items you may think you'll need."

"I already suspected the pokémon there would be stronger than most," Donte said. "But I don't think they'll be much of a threat against us."

"Don't take them lightly," Celebi scolded. "The minute you take them lightly will be your last. This isn't an ordinary tower. Thus, the pokémon will be stronger than what you're used to."

"Okay, okay," he said, raising his clawed hands defensively. "I understand. Thank you for the notification."

Celebi was giving them a worried look. Rumi smiled. "We'll be fine, don't worry! More importantly, what will you be doing?"

"Déjà vu," she chuckled lightly. "I plan to help Team Cosmic with finding out where the Dark Army is located."

"Please tell them that we're coming as soon as we finish our mission," Rumi said.

"I'll be sure to tell them to leave a note!" the shiny smiled as she floated higher into the sky. "Good luck!"

Once Celebi was gone, Donte shook his head. "For someone who's revered as a strong legendary, she is very optimistic."

Rumi laughed. "She certainly doesn't look strong, but I bet that's just a front to fool her enemies. I'm willing to bet you wouldn't last a second against her."

He cocked an eyebrow amusedly. "Is that a challenge?"

"Why yes, yes it is," Rumi grinned.

Nova flew between the two and began jumping to get their attention. "Guys, we should really focus on the task at hand here!"

"Sorry," Rumi chuckled. "I got caught up in the moment. But I would love to see you face off against her," she added, grinning foolishly at her partner who grinned in turn.

Nova pouted and huffed. "Guys!"

"We know. Calm down Nova," Donte said, flying down next to them. "So, looking back to what she said… it'll be tougher than our regular mission. What do you think we should bring?"

Rumi frowned. "I'm not sure. We don't know what kind of pokémon will be there. And there was nothing in my dream that indicated what types of pokémon would be there."

"Well, I have a couple of ideas," Nova said with a tilt of her head. "Since the Tower of Spirals is known to house the dreams of pokémon, I'm willing to bet that there'll be psychics and maybe fairy-types there. Maybe a few dark and ghost-types too."

"That does sound logical…" she murmured. "Nova, do you think you can fetch the items we need? I want to check around the base for anything important that we might need."

Nova nodded and flew into the base, coming out seconds later with an empty bag, the handle of the bag in her beak. With one last nod, she flew off towards the town.

Donte eyed her. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"Usually you're the one who gets the items. And you know that there isn't else inside the base that we're going to need. So something is clearly wrong," he responded.

Rumi sighed. "I'm scared. We don't know what to expect there… and you're the only one that's fully evolved on our team. Even if you have the noivernite and I have the mega bracelet, things will be tough there. I'm just scared that we'll be knocked out before we can make any form of progress."

Donte flew down beside her. "You needn't worry. I'll keep you and Nova safe."

"But that's the thing," she stressed. "What if _you_ get knocked out? That leaves us to fend for ourselves. We're not as nearly strong as you are, and that has me worried."

He brought her into his embrace, making the normal-type pokémon blush. "Rumi, stop worrying so much. You have no clue if either you or Nova will evolve while we're there. Though you do have me curious," he pulled her out of his embrace and stared at her. "What kind of pokémon are you trying to become?"

Her ears drooped and she frowned. "Well, after seeing the different types I could transform into, I thought I'd like to become a sylveon. I already know a fairy-type move, but I don't know what else I need. Am I lacking in something?"

"I'm not sure," he said. "I do not know the requirements for that evolution."

Silence followed. Rumi had her eyes down cast, thinking about her evolution and what would happen after they completed their mission. That was her true fear. She didn't care that she hadn't evolved. What frightened her most was what would happen to her after they completed their mission. But she couldn't tell her teammates. She knew it was her own weakness that prevented her from confiding in her two members, but she didn't want them to have any ill feeling towards the mission. She knew that it was cowardly, and that a true friend would tell their friends. She also knew that she couldn't just wait until the last minute either. They deserved the right to know. So when was the perfect time to tell them that she might disappear forever?

She didn't see it, but Donte was eying her from the corner of his eyes. He knew she was hiding something and it was bigger than her fear of what was to come in the tower. Perhaps she was terrified of facing against the Dark Army? That was enough to terrify anyone. Or was it something else? But what else could have her so terrified?

He shook his head and frowned. He could sit there and debate about it the entire trip and still not come up with the right answer. As much as he hated it, he would have to wait. She would tell them when she felt the time was right. He knew that much.

Nova returned moments later with their bag fully stocked and ready to go. The cotton ball pokémon was jumping around excitedly. Neither Donte nor Rumi could understand how the small pokémon was excited about the mission. But then again, Nova was always the daredevil of the team.

"So, are we leaving sometime today?" she chirped.

Rumi nodded, a serious look coming on her face. "We need to hurry to the tower and restore whatever has caused the disruption. Then after that we have to hurry back here and find out if Celine and the others have found the Dark Army and aid them."

"Don't forget that we're also going to need sleep," he said, folding his arms. "I understand your desire to help, but we can't help Team Cosmic if we're exhausted."

"Don't worry," she reassured. "We'll have plenty of sleep before we face off against the Dark Army."

"I think Rumi's got a crush on Sniven!" Nova said suddenly, making the eevee glare at her.

"I do not!"

"Then why are you blushing?"

"Because the very idea of it is outrageous!"

Nova giggled and began hopping around Rumi chanting, "Rumi's got a crush on Sniven! Rumi's got a crush on Sniven!"

Rumi was about to attack the cotton bird when Donte intervened. "Alright, Nova, that's enough."

Nova gave Rumi a smug look before flying into the air. Rumi stuck out her tongue and snorted. Donte just shook his head, rubbing his temple as he did so.

"Let's get going, please, and Nova, no sing-alongs. Do I make myself clear?"

"Awwww! Meanie."

-x-x-x-x-

The members of Team Solar Spiral each had different reactions as they stared at the large purplish tower in front of them.

Nova was staring at it in wonder, completely enthralled with the beauty of the place. She couldn't stop staring at the enormous bulky trees surrounding the tower. There were exotic flowers blooming in shades of red, white, and black on the trees. If it was this beautiful outside, she thought, what was it like inside? The anticipation was killing her!

Rumi had a haunted expression etched across her face. Her fears and worries from before were coming back at full force now, and she was beginning to question if she really wanted to go in there. She wasn't worried about the pokémon inside and how strong they were, no, she was scared of completing the mission and telling her friends that she would forever disappear from their world. She couldn't bear the thought of seeing the looks of disappointment and anger in their eyes upon hearing the news, and she certainly couldn't handle the looks of sadness as she faded in front of them.

Also impressed by the sight, but not showing it on his face, was Donte as he examined the tower. Judging by how high the tower was, he could only assume that there would be a total of nine floors. But that, by his calculations, would only be true if the tower in front of them was a regular, _normal_ tower. Chances were that this was a mystery dungeon and could contain as many as hundred floors. He silently prayed that the tower wouldn't be _that_ tedious.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Nova asked, grinning at her teammates. "Let's get going!"

Without waiting for a reply, she flew off towards the entrance. She was almost there when she suddenly rammed into an invisible force field. "Nova!" Rumi and Donte cried out as they watched the cotton bird slide down the force field comically. The two exchanged worried glances before rushing to their friend's aid.

"Are you all right?" Rumi asked once she reached her friends side.

There were swirls in the cotton bird's eyes as she groaned. "That was…unexpected…"

"Dummy! Next time don't go flying off without us!" Rumi said worriedly.

Donte had one of his clawed hands resting on the force field. "Interesting. The towers in plain sight and it looks like just about anyone can enter it until you actually try." He looked over to Nova dramatically sprawled out on the floor. "And anyone who is easily fooled by this ends up like Nova."

"Hey!" Nova yelled, quickly getting to her feet like the impact hadn't affected her. "Are you calling me stupid?!"

"No," he sighed with a shake of his head, "I'm saying that anyone who doesn't pay close enough attention tend to believe that it would be that easy to access the tower."

"Still sounds like you're calling me stupid," she frowned.

Rumi examined the tower, half relieved. "How do we get in then?"

Donte crossed his arms and examined the tower once more. "I don't know. I don't see anything that indicates a way in."

"I have an idea!" Nova said, wobbling over to the force field. She started to peck at it until there was an electric surge. The electric surge stunned the bird pokémon and sent her flying off into the field.

"N-nova!" Rumi cried out, horrified.

Donte shook his head. "She just never learns…"

"Donte!" Rumi scolded, glaring at him briefly before running off towards the swablu. Donte sighed and followed after her.

"I'm…okay…" Nova squeaked when they reached her. Her feathers (or clouds…or whatever ) were slightly singed with small bouts of smoke still coming from the singed spots.

"Did we learn the importance of not rushing in without thinking?" Donte asked with a rise of his eyebrow.

The cotton bird nodded slowly, the swirls still in her eyes.

Rumi gave him a glare and silently scolded him. He just shrugged and looked back at the tower. Rumi lowered her head to examine her friend's wounds. "What were you thinking?"

"I didn't know that it was going to do _that_," the swablu said, slowly coming out of her haze. "For the record, it was kind of…electrifying!"

Rumi gave her a blank stare, obviously not amused by the joke. "You could have been seriously hurt!"

"Wouldn't be the first time!"

Donte sighed and shook his head as Nova jumped to her feet like nothing had happened. "Well, now we know that we can't feel up the wall for any form of a switch without being shocked."

"So what do we do now?"

"Let's try pecking at it again!" Nova suggested, receiving a baffled look from Rumi.

"Are you _crazy?!_" she gawked.

Nova tilted her head with a small smile. "Maybe!"

"Nobody is going to be pecking at the field," Donte said, eying the cotton bird who visibly deflated from the denial to peck it again. "Now let's think… we can see the tower, but we can't enter. There is a force field blocking us from entering, and we can't feel up the wall for long without being shocked."

"Maybe there's a secret entrance hidden around here?" Nova suggested.

Rumi frowned. "But we don't have time to be searching for entrance that may not exist! There has to be an easier way in – a way we just haven't figured out!"

The trio sat there and contemplated on what to do.

For Nova, the idea of a secret entrance sounded appealing and logical - either that, or a secret switch. But no matter how much she looked, she didn't see anything that could be used as a switch. There was nothing but empty field and strangely colored trees. And if there was anything else potentially dangerous to touch, she wasn't aware. She didn't want to find out; being shocked was one thing, but being stabbed, eaten, or worse was a different story.

Donte was looking at the tower in a more logical way. The idea of there being a secret switch did sound appealing. But he wasn't sure if touching random things in the area was such a good idea. He didn't know if these flowers or plants had any side effects, and he didn't want to risk his teammates from getting hurt in order to find out. Flying throughout the plains sounded like the most logical idea. It would take a bite out of their time, but it sounded like the most plausible theory at the moment. Plus, it was better than just sitting there and doing anything.

While the two pokémon debated on what to do next, Rumi believed she already had the answer. She was casting glances down to the mega bracelet attached to her paw (she had moved it after being hit with the bracelet in the chest painfully more times that she could count). To her, it sounded more logical that the mega bracelet wasn't just there to help her evolve. Something told her that it was like a key. She was close to saying it, but every time she was about to open her mouth and suggest the plan, she lost her nerve.

In an effort to fool her teammates, she turned around and looked off in the distance, pretending that she was looking for any signs of a hidden switch or entrance. In reality, she was jamming her eyes shut to keep out all the bad feelings that washed over her every time she thought about completing their mission. It never bothered her this badly before, why was it more difficult now?

_Because you admitted to yourself during the trials that you loved Donte,_ said a voice in the back of her mind.

_N-no,_ she thought desperately, _that couldn't be true. I can't love him. _

_Why not?_ The voice in the back of her mind asked. _Why can't you love him? _

She frowned inwardly. _Because once my mission is over…I'll be forced to leave…_

_How do you know that? There are countless other human turned pokémon here. Whose to say that your case will be any differently?_

_Because it is!_ she shouted in her mind. _Our situation is _different.

The voice in the back of her mind scoffed. _How so? You were called down to the pokémon world to solve a problem – just like the other human turned pokémon! Our situation- _

_Is still different! _She thought, cutting off the voice in the back of her mind._ There has never been human turned pokémon that have used the power of the mega stone and the mega bracelet before us! If what Lizette told us is true, then this stone carries a lot of power with it! So much power that it makes a difference on whether or not we're to stay!_

_So what if it has a lot of power? _The voice in the back of her mind argued. _For all you know the stone will simply shatter and you'll just be like the rest of the human turned pokémon. _

Rumi narrowed her eyes in anger. _The power itself will tip the scales… and to make sure everything stays in order, we'll be sent home. Now stop arguing with me! I can't love him because I won't be staying here. Loving him will be useless! _

"Rumi?"

"What?" she snapped, realizing all too soon the anger in her tone. She looked over to Donte apologetically. "Sorry…"

"What's wrong?" he asked, cocking his eyebrow. "You were glaring at the rocks over there. Did they…offend you or something?"

She blushed and shook her head. "No! I was just trying to figure out if there was some form of secret switch or something…"

"That's what I was thinking!" Nova chirped happily.

Donte shook his head. "I think we have the key to the secret switch."

Rumi felt her heart drop as he pointed to the mega bracelet on her. "It might act as a key as well as a power source for us. What do you think?"

"It sounds…logical," Rumi said, nodding her head slowly.

She lifted her paw into the air and watched in amazement as the stone on the bracelet began to glow vividly. While Donte and Nova had the ability to hide their flashes with their hands, or wings, rather, Rumi had to shut her eyes and turn her head. Once the flash disappeared, the trio looked back at the mega stone to see that there was a beam of light shooting from it onto another stone on the top of the tower. They watched as the force field that once covered the tower slowly began to dissipate. Once it was gone completely, the trio stood there for a few more minutes to see if anything else would happen.

"Well that was anticlimactic," Nova said with a frown. "I was hoping for some explosions and fancy sparkles!"

Donte and Rumi stared at the bird who only shrugged. "What? It would've looked awesome! Come on, you two have to admit that would've been better than that!"

Neither answered that.

"Let's get going," Donte said, staring up at the tower. "It's now or never."

_How about never then?_ Rumi found herself thinking with a frown.

"Let's gooooo!" Nova yelled happily as she flew off towards the entrance.

Donte shook his head. "I swear she never learns… Anyway, Rumi, hop onto my back."

"Thank you," she smiled gratefully, jumping on his back as instructed. As she hung onto him, she braced herself for what was to come.

-x-x-x-x-

\- Tower of Spirals, Level 1 -

Team Solar Spiral didn't have to worry about lighting at all. The place was well lit with strange illuminated rocks. The sight fascinated Nova. So much, in fact, that Donte was dragging the cotton bird along.

From where she sat on the top of his head, Rumi watched the swablu struggled. "Oh c'mon! Just one little look! _Please!_"

"For the last time," he growled, obviously growing tired of the cotton bird's childish behavior, "NO!"

"You're dull!" she said, sticking out her tongue.

"No, I'm focused," he replied. "Now, if you don't mind-"

Suddenly, Rumi screeched. Donte felt the weight on his head vanish almost immediately, and, when he turned, noticed a mismagius using their psychic ability to levitate the normal-type away from them.

Rumi was sobbing in her vain attempt to get free. "D-donte! Nova! HELP!"

"Rumi!" Nova cried out. Donte dashed forward to save her. But before he could reach her a steelix and slurpuff got in his way. He snarled at them as he backed away and buffed himself up in order to intimidate the enemy. Beside him Nova fluttered about nervously, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of their leader. When she saw nothing of the sort, she screamed out in fear, "RUMI!"

-x-x-x-x-

No matter how hard she fought, Rumi was unable to free herself from the ghost-type pokémon. "Let me go!"

When her captor didn't release her, Rumi grew frustrated. _Fine,_ she thought as she charged up a shadow ball. _We'll play this the hard way then!_

The mismagius never even saw the shadow ball coming until it felt a sharp pain in its side. The pain was enough to shatter the ghost-type's concentration and break the psychic hold on the small eevee. Rumi used this opportunity to jump away from the mismagius and create distance between them.

Rumi backed away cautiously with her eyes locked on the angry mismagius. The mismagius, angry that the eevee had attacked it, snarled at her. Rumi kept her distance and occasionally flicked her eyes in the direction of where they'd just come from. She was about to run off when she noticed that there was a small glimmer of light blocking the exit. _A force field!_

Her ears drooped as she continued to cower away from the mismagius. She'd been so busy trying to find a way out of her situation that she hadn't noticed the green and purplish leaves that appeared around the ghost type. By the time she noticed the attack it was too late.

As she endured the hit she realized that she had to fight. Either that, or be defeated by the ghost-type in front of her. And she definitely didn't plan to let _that_ happen.

With a burst of speed, the normal-type pokémon jumped out of the way of another oncoming magical leaf attack. She continued to use her speed as she ran around the mismagius. She didn't know how she was going to beat the ghost-type pokémon. Most of her moves wouldn't work on the mismagius. But there was one move that did do something.

Rumi barely managed to duck underneath a strange, but powerful, fire attack. She dashed away from the corner she'd been hiding in; avoiding any fire attacks that could singe her fur any further.

She shot several small shadow balls in the direction of the mismagius. The mismagius, unable to dodge any of the shadow balls, endured all of the hits. Once the attack was done it stumbled back a few paces, shaking its head in an attempt to rid itself of the pain it was feeling. Rumi was satisfied to see that her attacks were working on the ghost-type.

In an attempt to fight back, the mismagius shot another magical leaf attack in her direction. The mismagius even mixed it up a little by summoning thunderbolts to hit the rapidly moving eevee. All of the mismagius' attacks missed.

Rumi leaped into the air and fired several more shadow balls. She was off racing around the mismagius the second she landed on the ground. As the fight continued, she felt herself growing more confident in her ability to win the fight.

But her moves were becoming too predictable.

The mismagius' eyes took on an eerie shade of blue as Rumi was lifted off of the ground. It slammed the eevee against the wall as hard as it could, releasing Rumi when the mismagius was confident that she wouldn't be able to get up.

Rumi slid to the ground. She winced when she tried getting up. The damage was bad, she could tell, and any chance she had before with defeating the mismagius was now slim to none. She felt the psychic hold on her once more, lifting her towards the mismagius' face.

"You'll be paying _dearly_ for raising your paw against _me._"

"Y-you…can talk…? But…wild…"

"I'm no wild pokémon," the mismagius smirked. "In fact, I was sent here to destroy you. Courtesy of my mistress herself!"

Rumi felt her heartbeat pick up considerably. This had just turned from a regular wild pokémon battle to a life or death situation in the matter of seconds. And currently she was on the losing end. She began to struggle once more. "N-no! Let me go!"

The mismagius was unfazed by the pokémons vain attempts to free herself. "And to think… _you're_ the one who was supposed to stop my mistress? How pathetic. I expected someone…stronger. After all, without you the pokémon under my mistress' hypnosis will never wake up. How did you expect to defeat me, little one? Not even the guardian of this tower was able to stop me!"

Rumi didn't have much time to think about what she had said. She charged up another shadow ball and fired it at the mismagius. However, the mismagius saw this coming and tilted her head out of the way. The shadow ball completely missed her and instead hit the wall behind them. She chuckled. "Seriously? That's the best you've got? I was told to never underestimate the power of a human turned pokémon, yet you only know one move that can affect me? Ha! This will be much easier than I thought. It's a shame. I do hope that you said your farewells to your friends before you entered this doomed tower."

"They'll…come for me!"

The mismagius stared at her for a brief moment before cracking up. "Really? Fat chance! They won't be coming to save you."

Rumi's eyes widen. "W-what…did you do to them?!"

"I didn't do anything," she chuckled, "but my friends might've." She leaned in closer to the eevee's ears and whispered, "Once you're dealt with, I'll be checking up on your scrawny friend's. And, if by some miracle they somehow survived my friend's onslaughts, take pleasure to know that they won't be around much longer to do anything themselves."

She laughed when the horror washed over Rumi's face. "Like many others before them, they will fall under the sleeping curse! Never again will they see you, or the sunlight! They will be trapped in a never-ending nightmare. Oh…the _things_ I can do to make them wish they were dead!"

Time around Rumi seemingly paused. She couldn't let her friends suffer like that! If she failed and they were captured, it would all be because of her!

_Is this the extent of your love for Donte and Nova?_ The voice in the back of her mind asked.

_No! It's far greater than anyone can imagine! Nova, my silly, but dearest friend… and Donte…_

_What about Donte? Isn't he just another one of your 'friends?'_

This caused the eevee to pause and close her eyes in contemplation. The mismagius misread this action and chuckled. She believed that Rumi was submitting to her and accepting her fate. "So long, furball!" she said, tossing the pokémon into the air and preparing to fire a rock gem attack.

_No._ Rumi thought snapping her eyes open, a newfound determination resonating inside of her. _Donte is _not _just another friend!_

"RUMI!" Upon hearing her name, Rumi glanced over towards the force field to see an altaria crash right through it. While the altaria flew towards her with the full intention of catching the eevee in midair, a noivern flew past her and directly into the mismagius.

The impact of his body crashing into her sent the mismagius flying across the room. He grouped back up with the altaria, who, after catching the eevee, was landing on the ground near the exit.

Rumi stared at the altaria in confusion. "Nova…?"

Nova smiled and nodded eagerly. "I was so worried about you! These big meanie pokémon got in our way and wouldn't move, so I got angry and fought against them. Halfway through the battle I managed to evolve! I'm no longer the small little swablu you knew, but now a full-grown altaria! Isn't that awesome?"

Rumi never had the chance to reply. Two rays of light shot past her and directly into Donte and Nova. The two pokémon crashed into the nearby wall, leaving indents of their bodies as they slid to the ground.

Rumi's eyes widened. "Donte! Nova!" She glared at the glowering mismagius.

"You two showing up will not make a difference in the slightest! If you insist on having front row seats to your friends death, then welcome to the show!"

"No!" Rumi yelled, jumping in front of her friends and getting into a fighting stance despite the pain coursing through her body. She knew that she was exhausted and had little chance to win, but she wasn't going to back down now that her friends were there. She would fight to the bitter end to protect them. "I won't let you hurt _anyone._"

The mismagius gave her a look before smirking. "Oh, I see. You want them to be eliminated first? That can be arranged."

"You'll have to go through _me_ first!"

"You?" the mismagius said, raising an eyebrow amusedly. "You and I both know that you have nothing left in you to fight. So, why bother protecting them? Why not just give up and die, or run away? You will never be able to complete your mission, and even if you did, your time with your _teammates_ will still be short."

This struck a nerve inside of the eevee and the mismagius knew it. "See? You know very well what happens after a human has fulfilled their destiny in our world. All the friendships you have built in such a short span of time are meaningless, especially since they'll be severed the minute you complete your mission. Do you honestly believe you will be like the other human turned pokémon, gifted with a happy ending in _our_ world? Your teammates can struggle all they want and find ways to allow you to come back, but eventually those methods will go dry and once your gone, your _gone._ You'll be nothing more than a faded memory over time; heck, even your friends will forget who you were in this world."

"No...! They won't-"

The mismagius rolled her eyes. "Please, spare me the cliché sayings. You'll never fail? You'll never forget them as they will never forget you? Your team will forever prevail? I've heard it all before, and it's disgusting how overused those phrases are. If you won't ever forget them, then why don't you remember anything about your human life? I bet that you forgot who you were the moment you were converted into a pokémon. And, just as you forgot then, you'll forget this journey and your friends the moment you're converted back into a human. After all, it's probably the best coping medicine anyone can offer. Makes sense, doesn't it?"

Rumi looked like she'd been crush. "Face it, human, it doesn't matter if you care about them. It's only in the moment. It's a mere factor of survival!"

"NO!" Rumi yelled. "It's not in the moment and it's not just some mere factor of survival! I care a lot for them, and I'll do anything I can to protect them. They sacrificed so much for me-"

"And for what?" the mismagius snapped. "You'll fade away. Your love with them is fake and misguided!"

"I said no its not!" Rumi yelled again. "These feelings are not fake. Even if its cliché, I will never forget these two for everything that they have done for me."

She looked over to Donte and Nova and smiled softly. "The reason why we human turned pokémon are so attached to our teammates is simple, really. It's because they've faced through all the pain and hurt with us. They could have abandoned us at any given time, but instead of doing that, they stayed with us and fought along side us. Your right about one thing," she said, looking over to the mismagius, "and that's my time limit in this world."

A light began to engulf Rumi as her voice grew with ferocity. "But despite my time limit with them, I want to make sure that I help create a world where my friends can live their lives happily! And to begin that process, I _must_ defeat you and restore order to this tower!"

The mismagius gasped and backed away as a bright light engulfed the eevee. "I love them enough to want a better world for them! I'm happy knowing they're happy! And even if my time is short – I found someone I loved more than life itself and a friend I could never replace! Someone like _you_ would NEVER understand!"

The light blinded everyone in the room except for Rumi who had closed her eyes. She embraced the flowing power inside of her - the renewed feelings of attachment and love. _It might be hard to believe how quickly I fell in love with Donte,_ she thought, a single tear rolling down her cheek, _but I know I can't stay with him because I will leave this world. Even if I can't be with you, Donte, I want to make a world where you and your lover can live happy together. And Nova, you hold a very dear place in my heart. If it hadn't been for your silliness, I would have given into depression when I first came here. I sincerely thank both of you. I won't allow either of you suffer a horrible tragedy. I will make a world where you two will thrive!_

The light vanished after a few fleeting seconds passed. When the pokémon looked back, Rumi was standing gracefully in front of Donte and Nova. She was no longer the small eevee the mismagius had fought, but a newly evolved sylveon. She opened her eyes, the confidence in her eyes alarming the mismagius.

Even her voice was slightly deeper. "I won't let you hurt them. As I said before you will have to go through me."

"You think evolving will make anything different?!" The mismagius roared, using her psychic ability to lift up all the rocks around her. "I'll show you how much of a difference it makes!"

Mismagius shot the rocks towards the newly evolved sylveon. Rumi ran towards them with a confident smile as six stars appeared around her and slammed into the rocks, effectively destroying them. She flew past the debris and summoned forth a strange wind that pushed back the mismagius, but not by much. But knocking back the mismagius was not what Rumi had hoped for, instead she had hoped for the wind to cause the mismagius to be unbalanced. And that was exactly what she got.

Rumi leaped into the air and summoned forth a ray of moonlight, hitting the mismagius and sending her into a nearby wall. In an effort to protect herself, Mismagius disappeared into the shadows behind her.

Rumi landed gracefully and searched for the mismagius. While the sylveon had her eyes away, Mismagius reappeared behind her and slammed a fist into Rumi's back. The impact was enough to send the pokémon flying into the wall.

Unlike before, however, Rumi jumped back to her feet and emitted a powerful glow. When the glow was gone and the mismagius could see again, there were multiple copies of Rumi all around her. Each and every one of them was charging up a shadow ball.

The mismagius let out a cry of fear and started using her magical leaf ability to destroy each copy. But before she could erase all of them, she was hit in the back with a large shadow ball. The shadow ball sent the ghost-type flying across the room and into the wall. Mismagius attempted to get back up, but fainted.

Rumi got out of her fighting stance now that the fight was over. She was very proud of herself for overcoming the enemy.

"Rumi!" She turned her head to see both of her friends flying over to her.

"You evolved!" Nova said happily.

"Told you," Donte smirked.

Rumi blushed and nodded. "You did. Now it seems all of us are fully evolved."

Nova's face fell. "Was she telling the truth?"

The room was silent. Rumi had dreaded this moment for the longest time, but she knew it was time to come clean. "About me having to fade away when my mission here is complete? Unfortunately, she was telling the truth. Or at least, I believe so. Every human turned pokémon here had returned to the human world briefly. It wasn't until both the partner and the human wished it so deeply that they were allowed to return. But from what I heard, it was through tedious tasks. I'm not sure if my case will be any different from theirs. For the longest time I have been convinced that my case is different, and it's because of the mega bracelet," she said with a frown, looking down at the mega bracelet around her paw. "I don't think I will be able to come back once my mission is done."

Donte moved closer to her and hugged her. The hug caused Rumi to blush and look at him curiously. "Well, I _want_ you to stay. I'll make sure I find a way to make you stay."

"Me too!" Nova said, jumping around the duo. "I never ever ever want you to leave, Rummmmi!"

Rumi had to giggle at her friend's hyperness. While she laughed, she wondered if Donte had a double meaning to his statement. Could he possibly…?

"Let's get going," Donte said, snapping her out of her musings. "We still have a long way to go."

She nodded and followed after the flying duo as they continued their search for the stairways. Rumi smiled mostly to herself, relieved to know that her partners weren't feeling negatively about her limited time. It was possible that they were holding it in, but she liked to think that they weren't.

And that was enough to release the tension off her shoulders.

* * *

I'm terribly sorry for how late this is. If you remember, I mentioned having to go on vacation a couple of chapters back. Now I'm back and ready to finish this story! I hope you guys continue to read and enjoy, and do remember that leaving reviews certainly help!


	22. Captured

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 21: Captured

Things were not the same between Aiden and Celine after their talk. Aiden avoided Celine completely. This broke her heart further, especially when she made attempts to speak with him. He would act passive in their conversations and leave soon after she initiated them.

That was enough to put her in her current state.

She was sitting in the corner of her pitch-black room with the door locked and the shades pulled down. She was going through a roller coaster of emotions. She was mad at Rumi for saying that they would vanish and implying that their friendships were meaningless. She was also mad at herself for being persuaded by the eevee. That one moment of hesitation was enough to completely ruin her chances with Aiden. She couldn't believe that a part of her actually believed Rumi.

But at the same time, she couldn't be mad at Rumi.

She knew Rumi wasn't saying those things out of cruelty. She was looking at the uncertain facts of what would happen after they completed their missions. She only stated the truth of the matter. Would their situation be any different from other human turned pokémon? Would they be allowed the chance to return?

This uncertainty was enough to make anyone pause and think.

Celine tried her best to stay positive; to believe that their situation wasn't much different from other human turned pokémons. But then again, no other human turned pokémon ever had the ability to wield the mega bracelet either.

In the end, it did nothing but infuriate the delphox further. Why was she being so easily swayed? Her convictions were solid before she met Rumi; before she even thought about the aftermath of their mission; before she even thought of having to leave Aiden and Lizette.

She groaned and hugged herself. There was so much drama going on, so much nonsense that it was giving her a headache. She was aware that self-pitying and delaying the inevitable would do nothing but continue to make the situation worse.

Eventually, she would have to suck it up and deal with it.

A knock at her door pulled her out of her thoughts. "Celine? Is everything all right?"

Celine didn't answer. She just looked away from the door. She knew that Lizette would get worried if she didn't answer her, but she didn't feel like talking to anyone.

"Celine?"

"I'm fine," she finally spoke, "but I rather be left alone right now."

"All right," Lizette said, her tone suggesting that she wanted to ask what was up. "Is there anything you need? Anything you want me to get for you?"

_Can you help mend a broken relationship? _"No, I'm good. Thank you for the offer though," she said. She heard shuffling outside of her door. Eventually it faded away and she was back to delving on her own thoughts again.

-x-x-x-x-

Lizette lingered outside of her door for a minute before going back into the living room.

"Is she okay?" Jaxon asked, looking over from his spot beside Kalista's side.

Lizette shook her head sadly. Her ears fell as she spoke softly, "I don't know what's wrong with her. I don't know if she's beating herself up over her fight with Zoroark. I kind of thought she would let it go since he wasn't that badly injured."

"Perhaps it's trouble in paradise," Silver suggested, looking over to Aiden who occupied the spot beside the newly repaired window.

He wasn't looking at them or even listening. He was staring outside of the window, trapped in his own thoughts.

Grovyle sighed and shook his head. "This is the worst time for you two to have a love spat."

Lizette frowned as she watched Aiden. Usually he would've snapped, but he didn't even budge or acknowledge the other pokémon in the room.

"I have a funny feeling I know what's wrong," Zoroark said, limping into the living room.

Lizette was beside him within seconds. "What did I tell you? Don't move! You need to rest up-"

"I'm fine," he said, cutting her off. "Celebi healed me."

"She's back?" Grovyle questioned, looking around for the legendary. "Where is she?"

Zoroark looked in the direction of Celine's room. "Knowing her, she's probably trying to speak to Celine. Which is exactly why I came out here: to speak to you, Aiden."

Despite his name being called, he didn't show any acknowledgement. "You're not the first pokémon partner to have fallen in love with a human turned pokémon, Aiden, and you won't be the last. Did you ever stop to think why she had not returned your feelings?"

Aiden flicked his ear in Zoroark's direction. It was a sign that he was listening.

"Perhaps she does love you. I'm willing to bet she does. She wouldn't be the first to fall in love with her partner. And she wouldn't be the first to withdraw her feelings because she is vaguely aware that she will disappear from this world once she has completed her mission."

"_What?_" Lizette asked, visibly shocked by this. "She'll…disappear?"

Zoroark nodded. "Yes. All human turned pokémon are sent back to the world they originally come from upon completing their given mission, but are given the chance to return to our world and live among us. However, since they do not originally live in this world, they must meet the requirements in order to complete the trial to return to our world. Many have done it, others have failed it, and some chose not to bother with it."

He looked directly to Silver, Jaxon, and Grovyle. "Those who met these requirements were allowed to return to our world and live among us as a fellow pokémon. The challenges are ever changing, but that's due to the sheer mass of human turned pokémon that live amongst us. It's the very reason why some fear that opportunity to return will soon close and prevent any further human turned pokémon from living here. Others, much like Celine, fear that their situation is much different from other human turned pokémon and believe that option to return here is not valid to them. I cannot confirm nor deny any questions regarding whether or not she will be staying here after her mission is complete. That is something that not even I am aware of. But the point of me telling you all of this is to tell you that perhaps she is afraid. Once she completes her mission, she may never see any of you again. And that thought alone frightens her. She may not want to build her relationships any further in hopes that she doesn't hurt any of you when it's her time to leave."

Lizette was frozen in her spot. Disbelief was written all over her face. She shot a pleading look over to Grovyle, Silver, and Jaxon. "How can we bring her back? There has to be a way that she can stay here!"

Nobody answered at first. "Lizette, being irrational about this will not help," Zoroark said.

"Irrational?" she repeated, fury now written all over her face. "How am I being irrational about this? She is the leader and creator of this team; she's the main core that holds this team together! She has helped mend a relationship that would have otherwise been broken had she never intervened and fixed it! She's like that extra shoulder you know you can lean on when the going gets tough and reassure you that everything will be all right. She's a very important friend to me – one that I don't want to give up too easily! I just can't sit here and listen to you tell me that she might vanish forever! How is that fair? It's not – especially when there are other human turned pokémon living in this world! Tell them, Aiden!"

All eyes turned to the lucario. He was just standing there with a blank expression. Nobody knew that inner turmoil he was facing right now. He was in disbelief himself. Was this the reason why she turned away? Was it to hide her sadness? Why hadn't she told him about it?

And more importantly, how could he find a way for her to stay?

Lizette hissed when Aiden said nothing. Tears were running down her face. She grabbed a pillow from the couch and threw it at him, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked at Lizette, baffled to see the meowstic standing there crying. "Why aren't you saying anything? Don't you care if Celine vanishes forever? She's done so much for us, Aiden! She protected us and fixed everything! She protected _you_ when things got rough – even to the point where it nearly cost her own life! Is this how you repay her for everything she's done for us? For you?"

She collapsed to her knees, her crying escalating to bawling her heart out. "I don't want her to leave!"

The sight was heartbreaking for Aiden to see. He felt the exact same way.

Grovyle walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders reassuringly. "She might only leave for a little while. I feared the same thing when I knew that if we changed the past, we would change the future and our very existence in this world. I almost quit because I didn't want to lose Annabelle."

"Same here," Jaxon said, approaching her. "I was heartbroken when I watched my own best friend vanish before my eyes. If I had known that she would have vanished, I would have never completed our mission. Nothing was the same after she disappeared. But don't lose hope! There is still a chance she won't leave, or, if she does, return!"

She looked at the two of them, still sniffling. She looked back to Zoroark. "There's still a slim chance, right?"

"There is a chance for anything to happen," he said. "But I cannot tell you for certain. There are some things that reach beyond even my knowledge. But what I can tell you is this: I have noticed a pattern between the humans and their partners. They shared a very special bond, and it's my theory that this special bond helps create a pathway in which the human can use to return to our world."

Aiden lowered his head: a special bond? Did he already have this special bond with Celine? It sounded silly, but he wasn't sure. He loved her, yes, but did that qualify as a special bond? He lifted his head up determinedly. It had to be. Nothing was stronger than the bond of love, or so he heard when he was just a riolu.

He walked past them and towards Celine's room. He needed to speak with her and fix things. He never once gave thought about the aftermath, or what would happen to her once they completed the mission. Now that he gave thought to it, he could understand her fear of not saying anything when he asked her about her feelings. She was afraid of accepting them not because she didn't feel the same (or so he hoped), but because she didn't want to hurt him afterwards by telling him that she would have to leave forever.

He reached her door just as she was opening it to reveal Celebi and a shocked Celine who locked her eyes on him. Celebi giggled and smiled, flying past Aiden and winked at him. He was confused by her actions, but didn't linger on it. He looked back to Celine who had her head lowered.

"I heard from Zoroark," he said. "Is that why you didn't say anything?"

He could see she was fighting back the tears. "It is, isn't it?"

"I couldn't tell you," she said softly, "I didn't want you to abandon our mission because of the aftermath. I don't like it either, but I want to help these pokémon."

"I would never abandon the mission," he said, taking her hand into his, "I would be deeply saddened by what would happen afterwards, but I know how important this mission is to you. I would never stop it because I didn't want you to leave. That would just be selfish."

She looked at him. There was hope swimming in her eyes as she stared at him. "You still want to fight…?"

His grip on her hand tightened. "Of course. I won't abandon you and make you fight this battle alone." He chuckled lightly. "The time that we've spent together is short, and I'm a little surprised with how quickly we've fallen in love with each other. To be honest, it all feels like a fairy tale. But I am seriously when I say that I do care about you, and I hope that I'm not jumping the gun when I believe you feel the same way about me."

"Of course I do!" she immediately blurted, blushing when she realized what she said. "I have for a while. I just couldn't bring myself to tell you and hurt you when I disappeared."

He smiled, relieved that she did feel the same. His relief was washed over with a wave of determination as he narrowed his eyes with a smirk. "Then let's stop this little drama we've got going on here and help those captured pokémon."

Her smile grew with her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. She hugged him and nodded her head against his chest. "Let's end this war."

The ground shook violently beneath them, causing the two to hold onto each other. They could hear Lizette cry out in surprise, "What the heck is that?!"

Celine winced at the loud roar, "Human! I know you're in there!"

Aiden's grip on Celine tightened in response to the roar. His eyes were locked on the door. He was grateful that the earth was done trembling, but he could still sense the danger in the air. Mixed with this danger was a power surge of electricity and authority. He eyed Celine from the corner of his eye.

She was staring at the door in worry. Her hands rushed to her mouth as she gasped out in surprise, "Zoroark!"

He looked back just in time to see Zoroark running directly to the door. He swung the door open and ran outside. Celebi was close behind him, yelling, "Wait! Zoroark!"

Lizette was the next to come running out into the hallway, but this time she ran towards the pair. Her eyes were still puffy and red-ringed from her crying. "We've got a serious problem!"

"What is it?" Aiden asked, a bad feeling forming in his gut.

Before she could answer, there was another roar. It was shortly followed by a howl of anger. The group looked at each other before the trio ran outside to see the commotion.

Zoroark, with his teeth bared, was glaring up at the large black and blue pokémon before him. In turn, Zekrom was glaring down at Zoroark. Celebi was hovering behind Zoroark with narrowed eyes, crouching down slightly as if she was preparing herself for a fight.

"It has been a while," Zekrom finally said, his eyes narrowing into slits. "Fancy meeting you here after years of never seeing each other, traitorous Zoroark."

Zoroark snorted. "If anyone is the traitor here, it's you. A hypocritical one at that too! How could you come to hate humans so much when you, yourself, used to be partnered with one?"

Zekrom snarled. "I will only spare you this one chance, _old friend_, to move yourself out of my way. Otherwise I will put an end to you and everyone else here."

"Well, I do hate to burst your bubble, _old friend,_" Zoroark taunted back, "but I don't plan on moving an inch."

Celebi flew in front of him before any attacks could be thrown. "You! What have you done to the other human turned pokémon?"

"Why, isn't it the little guardian of time herself? Diagla failed to get you out of his way, I see. I suggest if you wish to remain alive that you move out of my way."

"I'm flattered," she said, not budging an inch from her spot, "that you know who I am. Then you should already be aware that I do not take kindly to those who hurt, or even harm, my friends. I have survived Diagla's wrath, what makes you think I'm going to shudder in your presence? Now tell me, where are my friends?!"

"And, pray tell, why would I tell a pip squeak like you?" Zekrom snickered. "Your _friends_ tainted the future of our world!"

"Wrong!" she yelled. "They made it a happier and brighter place, however you are ruining it!"

Zekrom snarled and growled at the two pokémon. His patience was wearing thin. "I said to _MOVE!"_ he roared, emitting an electrical surge.

"Celebi! Zoroark!" Celine screamed in horror.

Celebi, having been distracted by Celine's scream, was hit by the thunderbolt. She screamed out in pain until the electrical current surrounding her body. She collapsed into Zoroark's arms not a second later.

"Celebi!" Celine attempted to run to her, but was intercepted by Zekrom who stepped in her path. He glared down at her, and she, in turn staring at him in horror. It was quickly replaced with anger. "How _dare_ you hurt her!" she yelled. Aiden and Lizette quickly joined her; the two pokémon stood on either side of her in fighting stances.

Zekrom found himself laughing at the trio that dared to stand before him in preparation for a fight. "Do you honestly believe that you three could possible defeat me?"

"We won't know until we try!" Celine yelled, her stick appearing in her hand, the tip of it ignited in fire.

He stared down at them. Not amused by their actions, his eyes flashed. A thunderbolt struck down, hitting Celine. She yelled out in pain and collapsed to one knee. Electricity sparked all around her and made it impossible for her to move. Before either Lizette or Aiden had the time to react, Zekrom threw down both of his claws. Covered in a purple hue, he attacked both pokémon with dragon claw. He sent them barreling away from him and proceeded to grab Celine.

Despite her paralyzed state, she attempted to attack back with a flamethrower attack. The attack hit him, but he brushed it off easily. Seeing how her attack didn't seem to faze him made Celine's eyes grow wide.

Grabbing her frozen form, he lifted her off of the ground. "Release her at once!"

Zekrom turned to see Silver, Grovyle, Zoroark, and Jaxon. All four pokémon were charging up attacks of their own, but before any of them had the chance to fire their attack, Zekrom summoned a rain of thunderbolts. All of them tried to avoid the attacks, but were unsuccessful. Pinned to the ground, they watched as Zekrom prepared to fly off.

Refusing to stay down, Aiden raced back from where he'd been sent flying with his fists raised. Landing on Zekrom's shoulder, Aiden punched the large legendary pokémon repeatedly in the face. Zekrom roared and whipped the fighting type off of him.

Aiden winced as he landed painfully on the ground. He refused to stay down. Again, he ran towards Zekrom, this time with an aura sphere that formed in the center of his palms.

"Argh!" Aiden cried out as Zekrom swung his body around quickly, effectively hitting Aiden with his tail. The fighting-type was once again sent flying, crash landing against a tree. He fell to the ground unconscious. Lizette was by his side in seconds, horror written all over her face as she cried out his name.

Zekrom snorted and ignored the struggling that Celine was putting up in his claw. He flew off with the delphox screaming out for her team.

-x-x-x-x-

Aiden stirred awake to the sounds of Lizette crying. "What do we do?" he heard her say. "That pokémon took off with Celine, and Aiden's wounds are far too severe to pursue after her…"

"I'm not sure," Jaxon responded, "but I'm curious as to who that pokémon is. I've never seen or heard about a pokémon of his size or caliber."

Zoroark was the one to reply to his question. "That was Zekrom. He's a legendary pokémon of great power. He was referred to as god of the human lands named Unova. He and his counter-part, also known as Reshiram, guarded the region with their respected human partner, or so the legends I've heard say. One stood for ideals while the other stood for truth."

"If the legends are true," Zoroark continued, "then Reshiram stood for the truth, while Zekrom stood for ideals. There was a rumor that there was a third counter-part, but I have not read any books about it thus far."

"Oh great," Silver commented sarcastically, "there's a third? Where the heck is Reshiram and why isn't he doing anything?"

"Nobody has seen the dragons for centuries," Zoroark defended, "Zekrom is the first to have shown its face after all this time."

"As interesting as this history lesson is," Grovyle said, gaining their attentions, "we have much bigger things to worry about. Such as Celine, how she is fairing, Celebi and Aiden, and how we're going to get to Zekrom's place and defeat him with two injured pokémon."

"There's only one thing we can do." Jaxon eyed his unconscious friend. "We have to wait for Team Solar Spiral and Team Invincible Hope to return. We're hopelessly outnumbered, and we suffered two, if not three, major blows. Aiden is out for the count, Celebi is passed out, and Celine is gone."

"Ugh, nothing can go right!" Lizette cried. "All Aiden and Celine have done was fight and cause drama between each other! And finally, just when things were getting better between them, _he_ has to show up and ruin it all!"

"I'm more concerned about _what_ he'll do with Celine now that he has her in his grip," Silver said. "Granted, he doesn't have, or at least I hope he doesn't have, the other human turned pokémon, but wasn't she the only one who was charged with the rescue for captured human turned pokémon?"

All of the pokémon turned their attention over to Aiden and Lizette. Aiden was attempting to sit down, but Lizette was trying to force him to lay back down. "No!" she said, her eyes beginning to glow, using her psychic abilities force him back down "you are not moving from this spot!"

Aiden glared at her and opened his mouth to protest, but she hissed. "No, don't you even try speaking your way out of this. Do you have _any_ idea how lucky you are to be alive right now? Your neck could've been snapped upon impact after the way you hit that tree!"

"C-celine…" He winced, his throat obviously sore.

Lizette shook her head feverously. "Yes, I'm aware, Aiden, but I refuse to let you try anything in your current condition!"

"Aiden, please try to relax," Zoroark finally said, walking over to them. "I understand your protectiveness for her, but what good will you do in your condition? We have got to believe in her. Believe that she is fine and safe."

Aiden's look told them all they needed to know. He was worried, and wanted nothing more than to leap out of his bed to find and save Celine. Zoroark and Lizette exchanged looks, the latter shaking her head.

Zoroark looked back to the group of pokémon in the living room. Besides Aiden and Celebi, nobody else was seriously hurt. Everyone had a couple of minor cuts and bruises, but they were small compared to the wounds that Celebi and Aiden were abstained.

Thinking of the small legendary, Zoroark gazed over to the sleeping pokémon. She was resting on a small mat in the corner of the room. She'd suffered deep gashes and bruises all over her body, but thankfully it didn't seem any worse than that. She'd definitely be sore when she woke up, that much was sure.

Then there was Aiden. Previously, everyone feared the worst for him with the way he landed. It had looked like his back had snapped, and it especially didn't help their nerves with the way he fell onto the ground. Thankfully it didn't appear to be any worse than the major bruises on his back and some minor cuts. Though Zoroark was certain that Aiden had pulled, or even torn some ligaments in his body. There was just no way that the fighting-type could have gotten away from an impact as bad as his without some internal injury.

"She's right," he finally said after a while. "It's best we wait until the others return from their missions. We will need their strength to storm the castle, save Celine, and save the other human turned pokémon. Besides, we need to think of a plan to get into their castle without being spotted. If we can manage to get to Celine undetected, then we'll be solid. Each minute we spend reserving our fighting strength will be important for the largest battle any of us will ever face."

He looked over the entire living room before resting his eyes on Aiden. "We will save this world and stop Zekrom, but right now we need to plan accordingly."

Lizette jumped to her feet. Fist pumping the air, she grinned. "Then let's begin!"

* * *

Sorry for the lateness of this chapter. I've been caught up working on other things and preparing for college. The next chapter will be posted shortly! :)


	23. The Tower of Geoma Part 2

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 22: The Tower of Geoma Part 2

\- Tower of Geoma, 2nd Floor -

Drexel eyed his surroundings as the group ascended from the stairs. The walls were a deep blue with light blue crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. There were random puddles of water scattered about the room. And, while Drexel was hardly bothered by it, Fiona and Aldous were bothered by the harsh humidity in the air.

The psychic feline was the first to complain about it, "It's so _hot_ in here! Isn't this supposed to be the water level? I expected it to be cooler."

"Perhaps these are the conditions that water-types favor?" Fiona suggested, glancing over to Drexel for some form of confirmation.

Much to her annoyance, he just shrugged. With a puff, she examined the room further. "We better find the stairs before this heat drains away our stamina."

"It's already stolen mine," Aldous groaned, collapsing to the ground dramatically. "Just leave me behind… Tell Lizette that my last thoughts were of her radiance!"

"Oh no you don't," Drexel growled, yanking the feline off the ground by his tails. "I am not delivering any dramatic speeches to your girlfriend."

Aldous huffed and folded his arms. "I'm dying of heat, you bully! The least you could do is show some concern for your friend!"

Drexel rolled his eyes and dropped the psychic feline. Aldous landed unceremoniously on the ground with a small yip. He recovered quickly, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head as he glared at his frog-like friend. With a small grumble of displeasure, he got to his feet and was about to follow after his two comrades when he felt something grab his tails.

His yowl of pain caused the fairy and water/dark types to spin around. Aldous was trying to yank his tails away from the pinchers of a clawitzer. With an angry snarl, he yelled, "LET GO OF MY TAILS!" He grabbed the water-type, using his psychic to forcefully remove the pincher before throwing the pokémon away from him. Just for extra measures (and mostly because of how much pain his tails were currently in), he threw a shadow ball after the water-type pokémon.

He snorted, satisfied with the explosion that followed shortly after. He spun on his heel and strutted past his comrades.

Fiona hurried after him. Aldous was rubbing his tails as he walked. "From the looks of it," she said, "it'll be fine. If anything it's just going to be sore for a while."

"I figured that much out," he grumbled.

Drexel was close behind them. He was examining their surroundings once more to see if there were any more enemies nearby. With a sigh, he sped up to pick up Aldous. He put the psychic feline on his head and continued on with their expedition.

Aldous gazed curiously at his friend.

"You were complaining about the heat," Drexel said with his eyes locked ahead of him, "and since I'm not sure if walking will hurt your tails any further, just sit up there and rest until we find the stairs."

Aldous grinned at the pathetic excuse, but said nothing. It was nice to know that his friend did care after all - even if he was a lug-headed idiot half of the time.

It was halfway through their exploration when Drexel paused all of a sudden. Aldous looked down at him curiously. "What's up?"

He didn't answer. He was more focused on the strange feeling that was overtaking him. Something was wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew there was something _off._ It couldn't have come from their mission because there were no enemies near them or even in sight, and both of his comrades were either sitting on his head or floating beside him worriedly. With that knowledge in mind, he concluded that it had to be an outside influence that was making him feel this way.

He looked back in the direction of the stairs that brought them up. "What's wrong, Drexel?"

Drexel turned to Fiona. There was concern written all over her face. "I don't know," he responded, looking back towards the pathway they'd just come from. "Something's off, and I don't know what it is. I have this terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach."

"Oh, that's wonderful news," Aldous commented sarcastically. "Please tell me it has nothing to do with us."

"I don't think it does," Drexel said. "…I dare say that it might be from something else."

Fiona shuffled around nervously. "Something else? Like what? Do you think it has…anything to do with the other teams?"

At this, Aldous' ears perked up in alarm. "Something bad happened to the other teams?"

"I don't know," Drexel answered. "I hope not. Let's keep going."

His bad feeling intensified as they walked on. Looking back on it, he desperately wished that he'd found a way to remain in contact with the teams while he and his team were on their mission.

He resisted the urge to shake his head. It was just a bad feeling, right? He couldn't let that distract him. He needed to focus on his current mission and fix whatever was wrong with the tower.

However, he found it odd. There were little to no pokémon on this level. He caught glimpses of poliwraths, croconaws, and clawitzers, but that was it. None of them moved in to attack him or his team.

The rest of their journey remained uneventful. They found the stairs to the third level, and without wasting a single second, ascended.

"I'm kind of surprised," Aldous murmured. "None of those pokémon attacked us. Only one did, and that was because he thought my tail was dinner!"

"That is quite odd," Fiona nodded. "They did see us, didn't they?"

"Most of them were half asleep, I think."

"But," Fiona continued, her tone suggesting that something was wrong, "even if they are half asleep, they attack. Many pokémon have done it to us before. Awake, barely awake, or half asleep, they still attacked us. And usually it's when we pass them that they attack us."

Drexel frowned; he had an idea. Aldous voiced his thoughts seconds later, "Maybe what's wrong with Spiral Tower has reached this far."

The idea didn't appeal to either of his comrades, much to Aldous' surprise. Both either frowned or showed no excitement. Aldous thought it was a good thing. He jumped down from where he sat and stood in the way of the two pokémon. "Why am I the only one who's happy about this? Strategically speaking, each fight that we avoid is another fight we can reserve our strength."

"Because," Fiona's frown deepened at the thought, "it just shows how far the sleeping curse as really spread. We've heard of a few cases farther than this, but it never affected this many pokémon in a single area, or at least not to my knowledge. It's unsettling. It really makes you feel like you could fall victim to it at any second."

Aldous' ears flattened against his skull. Drexel walked past him. "We need to _move._ The more time we waste, the more liable we are to the attack."

-x-x-x-x-

\- Tower of Geoma 3rd Floor -

As the team ascended to the third floor of the tower, they could immediately feel the change in temperature. It was hotter than before, much to Aldous' discomfort. But, despite the heat, the level was colored towards its respected type of pokémon like the previous levels. Ruby chandeliers hung from the ceilings while fire crackled along the sides of the red stonewalls.

"It's hotter here than it was in the last level!" Aldous huffed. "But at least we know what caused the humidity in the last level now."

"Let's go," Drexel urged. He pressed on forward, not wasting a single second. He wanted to get off this level as quickly.

Much like the last floor, there weren't many pokémon awake. Most of them were asleep, but the ones that were awake were overly aggressive.

Drexel suffered the blunt of the attacks against their team. He would ignore the protests from both Fiona and Aldous as he jumped in front of them to protect them from attacks. He snorted as he defeated another pokémon. "This is too easy."

"Don't get cocky," Fiona softly scolded as she floated up beside him.

He winced when she placed a leaf-like hand on one of his burns. He was hoping that she didn't see it, but he knew that she did.

"They're not aiming to defeat you single-handedly," she surmised, "they're most likely ganging up on you with attacks that they know will affect you in the long run."

"Heh, these burns won't stop me," he chuckled.

Aldous, who'd been silent for most of the journey around the third floor, scowled. He was growing angrier with each fight that his friend refused help. They had run out of Rawest Berries some time ago, so there wasn't any other ways to cure the burns Drexel endured. He had never expected for his friend to be so careless against their fire-type enemies. Apparently his scolding's had gone through one ear and out the other.

His anger finally burst when he saw Drexel preparing to attack an oncoming pyroar. He jumped in front of the water-type, startling him, and conjured up a shield to protect the group from the stream of fire the pyroar unleashed. Once the attack was finished, the shield lowered and Aldous used his psychic ability to lift up the fire-type lion and toss him to the far side of the room. Upon hitting the wall there was an explosion as Aldous' eyes flashed. When he was certain that the pyroar wouldn't be getting up, he continued to walk forward.

He was ignoring the protests of his leader as he continued on.

"You're our tactician, Aldous!" he yelled. "I could have seriously hurt you had I not stopped the instant you jumped in front of me! You're lucky that-"

"Lucky for what?" he questioned. "I have been telling you to stop fighting for us, Drexel. You are part of a _team_, and as a leader I expected you to know that much. But instead you continue to be selfless and insinuate these fights on your own accord. I cannot keep feeding you Oran Berries. We need them for our final battle as much as we need you."

He spun around to glare at his leader. "You're right. I'm just the strategist - the tactician - for this team. I'm aware that it's in my paws to make sure that we all reach the final level safely. However, if I keep letting you go headfirst into these fights, then I am not doing my job properly."

He turned away. "You're not the only pokémon on this team, Drexel. There is me, and there is Fiona. We are perfectly capable of defending and attacking too."

Drexel opened his mouth to yell at him further, but Fiona stopped him. She shook her head. "He's right, Drexel. Let it be."

"I'm going ahead," Aldous said. "I think I might see the stairs, but I want to confirm. Fiona, stay here and make sure that he doesn't do anything crazy. Go slowly. Don't waste any stamina running after me."

He took off without another word. Drexel growled as Fiona giggled. "You know he cares about you, right Drexel? Don't be angry with him. I think he finally had enough of watching you do all the work."

"I'm just protecting you two so that you guys don't get hurt!"

"And I appreciate that," she said, "but we can fight too. I understand that you are the most fit member for this level, but don't forget that we are a team. We are not defenseless. I've noticed you've been on edge since that earlier proclamation that you've felt off."

The ninja pokémon frowned. She continued, "Nothing bad will happen to us. We've worked as a team and made it this far together."

Drexel said nothing. He'd never say it aloud, but he was nervous. He kept thinking back to the other teams and how they were doing. He was aware that it wasn't his responsibility to worry over them, but he couldn't help but feel attached to the other human turned pokémon. Rumi and Celine were just like him; once regular humans brought into an unfamiliar world in which they were tasked to save it.

The bad feeling in his gut was still there. It was the main reason that he fought through the hurdles of pokémon. He needed something to keep his mind off of this strange feeling. But because he was so focused on getting rid of said feeling, he never noticed the anger building up inside his friend. He was just glad Fiona didn't press the matter.

"So how does it look?" she asked Aldous as he ran back. "That was rather quick."

"They're right up ahead! And better yet," Aldous smirked as he put his paws on his waist proudly. "I defeated the pokémon who tried to stop me. Now come on!" he insisted.

As they approached the stairway, Aldous paused and reached into the bag to pull out Oran Berries. He handed them to both Drexel and Fiona. For the third time that day, he turned to examine his teammates seriously.

"I'm fairly certain the next floor is our last," he said. "We never saw the colors, or any signs of a fourth floor to this tower. Which is why I conclude that the next floor is most likely the room holding the orb that we're looking for. From experience we know that it's also going to be guarded by a pokémon. We can try speaking to them, but with the state of this tower, I'm not sure if they'll be in the right set of mind."

He turned to the stairs. "So, I implore that we keep these berries close to us. I will keep the bag securely on my person, and I will stay in the back while you two fight up front. I will hand out any berries that we may need. I will also jump in and attack if the situation calls for it. And Drexel," he eyed his leader, "do switch in and out with Fiona. You're breakable like the rest of us. So, when you are feeling tired and need a short break, switch out with her. Same with you Fiona."

"Right!" She nodded her head.

The two of them looked to Drexel. Their leader sighed and nodded. "Fine. Are we ready?"

"I believe so," Aldous smiled. He moved out of the way for Drexel to climb the stairway first. After a moment of eye contact, Drexel went forward with Fiona following closely behind. Unseen by his teammates, Aldous winced slightly as he began climbing the steps.

He pressed his paw gently over his left ear. Hidden fairly well by his tucked in ear was a deep gash.

-x-x-x-x-

\- Geoma Tower, 4th Floor -

Drexel was the first to enter the large room. Behind him entered both Aldous and Fiona, both of whom were staring at the room in wonder.

The room was littered with shining diamonds. They were mixtures of light blue and pink, both of which shimmered beneath the bright rays of sunlight that poured in from the large window sitting in the back of the room. Resting in front of the large window was a stand. Floating above the stand was a cracked tri-colored orb. Resting above this stand, which set off a few alarm bells in the back of Aldous' mind, was extremely large purple diamond chandelier.

While Drexel and Fiona walked along the dirt path up to the orb, Aldous remained near the doorway. His eyes were locked on the chandelier. He sensed there was something off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It certainly didn't _look_ like a pokémon, but why did he feel that particular aura coming off of it?

"This must be the problem!" he heard Fiona declare. "The orb is cracked, but what the heck are we supposed to do to fix a cracked orb?"

Drexel, surprised to hear no theory coming from Aldous, turned to see the feline hadn't budged from his spot. "Aldous?"

Aldous' eyes widened. "MOVE!" he yelled.

Fiona and Drexel exchanged confused looks. Fiona turned around and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, both Drexel and herself were flung to the other side of the room by Aldous' psychic power. Landing where the two pokémon once stood was the purple chandelier.

It twitched before rising off the ground. Aldous backed away, but got into a fighting stance as the pokémon stretched itself out. Two ribbon-like structures flowed out behind it gracefully as its red eyes flashed.

"Who dares to enter my tower?" it spoke, revealing the pokémon to be a female.

"Who are you?" Aldous asked.

The pokémon regarded the small feline standing in front of it. Without warning several carbinks flew out from the rock formations in the room and pelleted Aldous with rocks. Caught unsuspecting, he endured the full brunt of the attacks.

A hydro pump immediately set the carbinks flying. Drexel ran past the larger, somewhat surprised pokémon with Fiona in tow. He slid in front of his unconscious friend and shielded him from view. Fiona went past him to check on their teammate.

"Aldous!" Fiona whispered anxiously as she shook the unconscious feline. There were several deep gashes all over his body.

He groaned and opened his eyes slowly. "Hey," he chuckled weakly.

"Aldous, hang on," she said, tears in her eyes. "You'll be okay!"

"Forget about me," he murmured, looking at Drexel. "Protect him…"

"Who are you?" demanded Drexel.

The large pokémon eyed him. "I am Diancie," she spoke. "I am the Guardian of this tower and the treasure in which it protects. The likes of you are not welcomed."

Fiona shot her head up. "Wait, if you're the Guardian, then please listen-"

"SILENCE," Diancie's voice rang. The larger chandelier pokémon didn't look pleased at all. "I said that you are not welcomed in this tower. I suggest you and your friends leave immediately."

"We're here to help though!" Fiona insisted.

"Help? How will you help? You will destroy it if I let down my guard!"

"But we didn't come here to destroy it!" Fiona pleaded. She paused when she noticed Drexel shift his weight. From the looks of it, he was eying the shadows where she could see something glinting. Her suspicion was answered when several carbinks emerged from the shadows.

She looked around them in a panic. Why wasn't this pokémon listening to her? She leaned over Aldous instinctively to protect him.

"Fiona," Drexel whispered, "protect him. Get to shelter. I will handle this."

"But, he said-"

"Don't argue with me; just keep him safe and out of this battle!"

Fiona whimpered slightly, but didn't press the matter any further. She lifted the cat pokémon into her arms and moved behind a rock where she placed him gently. She peeked over the rock to watch Drexel summon water shurikens around him.

Drexel felt better when he knew that she was away from the battle. With those two out of the way, he could fight the pokémon in front of him. Just thinking about what this pokémon did to his friend was enough to make his blood boil. Water shurikens formed around him as he watched his enemy. If Diancie refused to listen to reason, then he was going to _beat_ reason into the pokémon.

He launched the shurikens at the carbinks when they attempted in move in on him. Seconds later he swiftly sidestepped out of the way of a beam of purplish light. He recognized this attack and growled. He dodged another beam of moonlight before sinking into the shadows. While Diancie searched the area for him, he used the shadows to circle around Diancie. He jumped up from the shadow, and before the rocky/fairy pokémon had the chance to react, slammed his leg into the pokémons back. The impact sent the pokémon flying to the other side of the room.

While Diancie recovered, she used psychic to lift up boulders and fling them towards Drexel. He countered each one of them with his shurikens, dodging the debris as he dashed towards the pokémon with his fist raised. However, before he could even come close to her, her eyes flashed and he barely managed to dodge the sharp rocks that jolted from the earth.

As he stumbled back, Diancie floated higher into the air where she was surrounded with little shards of diamonds. The diamonds shot in his direction after she moved her hand towards him. A burst of water pulsated from his mouth, hitting the diamonds and destroyed them while he regained his footing.

Diancie smirked. "Not bad. Not many have withstood my array of attacks like you have."

"I'm flattered," Drexel said, sliding his hand to a small pouch on his leg, "but flattery will not make me stop. I _will_ defeat you and I _will_ restore this tower!" As he finished his sentence he quickly swiped a black ball from his pouch and threw it on the ground in front of him. Smoke exploded all around them, effectively masking his movements as he moved in closer to Diancie.

Having sensed his rapidly approaching presence, Diancie surrounded herself with jagged rocks. She believed that it would protect her from his attacks.

However, Drexel had figured she'd try something like that. He jumped into the air and shot more water shurikens at her. She let out a painful gasp, but in return, shot diamonds where she believed he was. He winced as a few of the diamonds cut through his skin. He landed not far from her, but didn't waste a second as he ran towards her jagged rock defense. He jumped over it, horror written all over his face when he saw the smirk on Diancie's face. _Crap!_ He thought as a ray of moonlight sent him flying through her defenses to towards the other side of the room.

The attack was quickly followed up with a herd of diamonds all aimed on him. He let out a cry of agony as the diamonds pierced through his skin. Unable to move, he watched through half-lidded eyes as Diancie picked up rocks around her and threw them at him.

Suddenly it broke into a million pieces. He cocked his head slightly to see what caused the sudden explosion. Standing not far away from him with petals whishing around her angrily was Fiona.

Her eyes were narrowed into thin slits as she glared at Diancie. Her hands were balled up into fights at her side. She looked like she was resisting the urge to let out a stream of curses at the rocky/fairy pokémon.

Unfazed by the angry garden pokémon, Diancie asked, "Are you now challenging me?"

"As a matter of fact," Fiona said through gritted teeth, "I am." Without further ado, her eyes flashed and the petals flying at her flew with great speed towards Diancie. Diancie chuckled, not bothering to move or protect herself. She was confident that the attacks would do nothing against her.

It came to her surprise when the attack actually _hurt._ She let out an agonizing cry of pain as she stumbled backwards. She had no time to recover as vines wrapped around the jewel pokémon. She was slammed repeatedly against the ground until Fiona finally released her through throwing her away from the group.

Diancie groaned as she lifted herself from the ground. She settled her eyes on the form of the garden pokémon as she walked towards Drexel. With a sudden burst of anger, she released a brilliant light, and then she begun rapidly spinning, taking on a metallic coat as she crashed into Fiona. She heard Fiona take a sudden intake of breath before she was sent flying.

"Not bad," Diancie said for the second time that day, "but you're going to need to do better than throwing flowers at me in order to win. I will tell you both once more: leave my tower!"

Drexel murmured out Fiona's name as he struggled to get up. Fiona was also struggling to get up, the super effective move affecting her entire body. They exchanged looks; was this the limit of their strength? Were they honestly unable to defeat this pokémon?

"W-we can't…do that," Aldous' weak voice echoed. The pair of injured pokémon immediately looked over to Aldous. He was limping out from behind the rock that Fiona had gently placed him behind. "We…have a mission here," he said, "and you won't stop us from completing it!"

The jewel pokémon regarded him silently from where she floated. "Admirable for one so small, but my mind will not falter."

"Then we'll make it falter," Drexel's voice answered. Diancie examined the ninja pokémon as he slowly got to his feet. From the corner of her eyes she could see Fiona making slow progress over to Aldous.

The proclamation made her smirk. They were going to _make_ her falter? "As amusing as your tall tale goes," she said, a hoard of diamonds surrounding her once more, "you will never be able to make me falter."

The diamonds were shot towards Fiona and Aldous. Since Fiona hadn't seen the attack even coming, Aldous took it upon himself to jump in front of his friend and summon up a protective shield. While they defended themselves against the storm of diamonds, Drexel barely managed to dodge a ray of moonlight from Diancie.

As if to make things even harder for him, several carbinks appeared. However, they ignored him and rushed for Fiona and Aldous. The two teammates, despite being injured and sore, were forced to switch between who was attacking and defending against the carbinks. This allowed Diancie to turn her full attention on Drexel. The latter left uncertain if this was a good thing or not. He didn't ponder on it much though, as he dodged each attack flung at him to the best of his ability.

For a while this stalemate worked. It was only until a stray diamond cut through Aldous' shield and into his ear that the battle shifted. The protective shield around them collapsed as he held his bleeding ear. The unrelenting smaller jewel pokémon took this to their full advantage. Even Diancie noticed this, and begun directing more diamonds at the group. Fiona did her best to protect the two of them while attacking, but it was beginning to prove itself too much for the duo.

Upon seeing this, Drexel tossed several water shurikens at Diancie to gain her full attention. It worked. Diancie glared at Drexel and started summoning waves of diamonds, boulders, and beams of moonlight. Each attack aimed to hit and knock Drexel out. He managed to dodge each one barely, but his eyes were locked on Fiona and Aldous in worry.

"WATCH OUT!" he screamed when he saw a group of carbinks levitating a large boulder off the ground. Fiona, from Aldous' side, watched in growing horror. She tried summoning more petals or leaves to attack, but, to her horror, was unable to.

Drexel dashed passed Diancie, summoning more water shurikens and aimed them at the boulder. However, Diancie, tossing another boulder in his path stopped him. He growled at Diancie, and shot a look over to see his teammates just as the boulder came down. "ALDOUS! FIONA!"

All of a sudden there was a bright light that emitted from Drexel's mega bracelet. It blinded the carbinks and Diancie; the latter bring up her arms to shield her eyes from the light. The light encased itself around Drexel and the spot where Fiona supposedly was.

The light exploded the boulder, revealing both Aldous and Fiona to be fine. Aldous was hunched down behind Fiona, using his uninjured ear to block out the blinding light in front of him. But, if he were to look, he would see Fiona as she was lifted off of the ground.

Her form began to change. Her frame became a little taller and kept its slender shape. The floral around her neck became smaller, and extended over her chest. Instead of its reddish hue of flowers, it was a rainbow gradient that now colored the floral. It was a testament to each possible color florges could become. Roses bloomed from her floral-like hair, keeping its rainbow-like color. Leaf-like gloves bloomed over both of her slender hands, a white staff with a flower (like the flower that her prior forms carried) on top of the staff appearing in her right hand. Two almost transparent leaf-like wings appeared on her back. The lower part of her body split off into two, giving her a pair of slender white-colored legs. From the floral around her waist a green split skirt appeared with diamond-shaped, rainbow-colored trims. Green leaf-like boots appeared on her feet with a diamond appearing on top of the boots.

When the light vanished, she landed on the ground gracefully and snapped her eyes opened. She twirled the staff in her hands before slamming it down in front of her, her transformation into a mega florges now complete.

Aldous stared at her in awe. He directed his attention to where he last saw Drexel, his mouth dropping to the ground.

Drexel was no longer a pokémon, but a human. He had short, dark brown hair. He was wearing a dark blue t-shirt with a smaller black hoodie vest with white trims. He was also wearing black pants with a pair of matching black shoes with white trims. There was a brown belt hanging off of his right hip with a small bag attached to it. He wore no accessories, well, minus the slightly glowing mega bracelet. When he opened his eyes, they were still the same color as the eyes he had as a greninja: red.

Still dazed by the transformation, Drexel stumbled into the wall and leaned against it for support. Finally, when the dizziness went away, he sighed. He had a splitting headache. What had just happened?

"Ugh," he groaned, putting his hand on his head. "Why do I feel like I was just hit by a truck?"

The memory of what was going on around him made him snap back to reality. He shot a look in the direction of where he last saw Fiona and Aldous, and boy, was he surprised with what he saw. With his mouth gaping, he stared at Fiona. "F-Fiona?"

Diancie, who was more confused and frightened than she let on, growled. "Who are you?" she demanded, "and what has happened to the greninja that was just there moments ago?"

At first, her words didn't sink in as Drexel glared at her. A second passed, and her words finally sank in. He looked down at himself and gasped. _Wait,_ he thought as he stared at his hands, _I'm a human again? But how?_

He shot a panicked look to Fiona. What if she didn't recognize him? By the looks of it, she looked more shocked than anything. There was a flicker of recognition in her eyes, much to his relief. From behind her he noticed Aldous. He looked like his eyes were about to pop out with how wide they were.

"Enough of this!" Diancie declared, a hoard of diamonds appearing around her again. "I care not for who you are! You are a trespasser and all trespassers _must_ be annihilated!"

Sensing the beginning of another fight, Drexel got into a fighting stance. He tried summoning his trademarked water shurikens, but grew horrified when he realized that he was defenseless.

Diancie smirked as she launched the attack. The hoards of diamonds that once surrounded her were now directed towards Drexel. However, before they could even reach him, Fiona jumped in the way and deflected each diamond away with her staff.

Once the attack was ceased, Fiona held it in front of her protectively. "Sorry, but I won't let you harm him."

"Hmph, it would appear that I must dispose of you first then," Diancie snorted, calling forth more diamonds.

Drexel eyed the fairy/rock type. There was something off about her. He hadn't felt anything off about the chandelier pokémon until now. Now it was calling out to him, pleading for him to save her.

He directed his attention over to the tri-colored orb. Was it possible that its crack caused this pokémon to become corrupt? _That has to be it,_ he thought. _If I can somehow fix that crack, then this pokémon might return to normal!_

"I need you to cover me," Drexel whispered. Fiona eyed him suspiciously from the corner of her eye.

"Why? What are you up to?"

"That orb," he continued to whisper, "I have a feeling that if I find a way to fix it, then this battle will be over. Don't you feel it? There's something…off about this pokémon."

Fiona nodded. She did feel something off about the pokémon after she completed her transformation. It was an odd, but new feeling to her. It was like she'd become sensitive to the other pokémon in the room. She could feel Aldous' pain and the surprise and fear rolling off of the tiny jewel pokémon fluttering about Diancie nervously, but nothing stuck out more than the strangeness emitting from Diancie.

She grimaced at the idea of letting a defenseless Drexel make a run to the orb. "It's far too dangerous – especially now that you seemingly have none of your powers."

"Which is exactly why I'm asking you to cover me."

"I don't think that this is-"

There was a sudden explosion near Diancie, causing the two to stop in their argument. Aldous, one ear dripping with blood, but standing in a fighting stance, was summoning another shadow ball in the palms of his paws.

"Go!" he yelled. "Quit yer bickering and GO!"

Drexel, nodding his head approvingly towards Aldous, darted out from behind Fiona and towards the tri-colored orb. Displeasure washed over Fiona's face towards Drexel's actions, but followed him nonetheless. She used her staff to deflect any attacks coming from the carbinks; occasionally stopping to summon magical leaves or energy balls to attack the pursuing carbinks.

Diancie, noticing where Drexel was heading, turned to attack him when another shadow ball exploded by her. She turned angrily to see Aldous grinning at her. He already had another shadow ball charging up between his paws. "Thankfully your attacks aren't very damaging," he mocked, "so I'm still itching for a fight!"

Angered by his mockery of her strength, she flew at him. She picked up boulders and shot them at Aldous. He countered each one with a shadow ball. He winced each time the debris hit him, but still stood. It was taking everything in him to continue standing and fighting, but he wasn't about to let Diancie sabotage his teammates from completing their mission. So, with great determination, he continued to stand and attack.

More boulders were flung at him, and he countered each one up until Diancie was practically on top of him. He dodged each physical blow she sent at him. With a screech of anger, she summoned up jagged rocks from the earth. He yelped, barely dodging the attack. He stumbled away from the rocks, but fell not soon after. Blood was coming from the fresh wound on his leg.

Diancie stalked towards him. Fury flashed in her eyes as she plucked boulders off the ground, smirking as she was about to crush him.

Aldous felt relief wash over him as he watched Drexel grab the orb. There was a blinding flash, the sound of rocks crumbling, and finally, darkness.

When the light died down, both Fiona and Drexel were back to their previous forms. Fiona was stumbling around a bit after being reverted back to her normal self. Drexel, on the other hand, was clutching the tri-colored orb in his hands. The crack that had been there was now gone.

When the disorientation finally passed, the duo looked over to the spot that Diancie and Aldous were last seen fighting. Drexel nearly dropped the orb in his hands, his eyes widening at the sight. Fiona collapsed onto her knee, her teary eyes locked on the spot. She was shaking her head in disbelief. "No…"

What stunned the two pokémon was the sight. Large boulders now covered the spot, seemingly crushing both Aldous and Diancie under its weight. There were no signs indicating that either pokémon had escaped from the rubble. Even the carbinks were gone.

Drexel carefully placed the orb back on its pedestal before running over to the boulders as fast as he could. He kept muttering, "No, not Aldous…" as he attempted to move the boulders. Finding himself greatly lacking in strength, he was unable to move the boulder. He collapsed to his knees, staring at the boulders blankly. Aldous, his best friend and group tactician, was gone.

He could hear Fiona wailing behind him. He was beginning to fall into the darkness of despair when he heard an unfamiliar, but gentle voice behind him. "Why are you crying?"

Surprised and ready to attack, he jumped to his feet and spun to meet the small, pink pokémon. Startled by his sudden movements, she backed away. Drexel just stared at her. She looked an awful lot like the large pokémon they'd just been fighting, but she was significantly smaller.

"Who are you?" he choked, barely able to hold back his tears.

She regarded him silently for a moment. Finally, with a smile, she said, "I am Diancie. I am the Guardian of this tower, and the protector of the Orb of Geoma. Pardon me for asking, but are you the one who has saved me from the corruption that overtook me?"

"You're Diancie?!" he cried out. "But you're… just a small fry! You can't be that big pokémon we just fought!"

She huffed and put her hands on her hips. "Small fry? I'll have you know I'm one of the strongest pokémon out there! The form you just fought was my mega form, though…" she tapped her chin thoughtfully, "it was corrupted because of the crack in the orb. You broke the curse on me when you fixed the orb! So thank you very much!"

"But all I did was grab it…"

"The light from this," she pointed to his mega bracelet, "was absorbed into the orb and repaired it. So, really, all you needed to do was hold it!"

She spun around happily, completely ignoring the sullen florges that floated to Drexel's side. Her eyes were locked on the boulders in front of them. Diancie stopped when she noticed the depressed florges and examined the spot.

"He was a brave one," she spoke. "Extremely brave to take me on in the shape he was in."

Fiona looked at her hopefully. "Do you have an idea if he's safe?"

Diancie shook her head. "No, I'm sorry."

Suddenly she stared at the large window. "Your friends need you. The fight has only just begun, my friends."

She looked back to them. "I understand this loss is hard, but you must not let it bring you down! Make haste, human, for the other chosen ones are in need of your assistance!"

Drexel, his face devoid of emotion, nodded. "Let's go," he said to Fiona.

"I wish you nothing but the best on your journey," Diancie smiled.

He didn't respond. He just walked away. Fiona silently thanked Diancie before running off to catch up with him. Diancie's smile grew as they disappeared down the stairway. "You'll love the surprise waiting outside the tower for you, human. It is my way of thanking you for saving our world and this tower from a horrible fate."

-x-x-x-x-

\- Outside of Geoma Tower -

Drexel was staring off into the sky. Any fight that he had in him before was now gone. His mind thought of how Diancie emerged from the wreckage fine, but not his friend. It angered him that the small pokémon was happy and content with her freedom, but not have the slightest clue if their friend was fine.

It tormented him. He didn't want to believe it, but chances were that Aldous was dead. If he was alive, then he was certain that Diancie would've shown them. But to know that the legendary pokémon didn't have the slightest notion had sucked out any hope that he had left of his friend's survival.

It tormented him further when he would look at Fiona. Because of their close bond, he could feel the waves of despair rolling off of her. Her eyes were blank; she was like an empty shell just doing things that anyone commanded of her. He understood why she was so sad. She'd known Aldous since the two of them hatched. They'd practically been friends their entire lives.

He shifted his stare away. They still had one more mission to complete. They still needed to regroup with Celine and her team and help them defat the Dark Army once and for all.

"Are you up to it?" he asked without much thought.

She looked to him curiously. At first she was confused by what he was asking, but realized what it was he was asking moments later. She lowered her gaze. "I'm still coming," she murmured. "I just…need some time. Is that all right?"

"Yes," he said. "Take as long as you need." Fiona smiled gratefully and levitated away from him.

Suddenly, a large orb of light appeared in front of Drexel. He yelped out in surprise and jumped back in preparation for another fight. He paused when nothing happened.

As the orb became more transparent the contents inside of it became visible. Drexel's mouth dropped to the ground as he immediately recognized the small form. "Aldous?"

Aldous' unconscious form descended on the ground, and with a _pop!_ the orb vanished. Drexel and Fiona were at his side in seconds. As they looked him over, they found none of his previous wounds. It was only when he started to stir that they stopped and waited patiently.

"Ugh," he grunted, sitting up, "what the heck just happened?"

"ALDOUS!" Fiona screamed happily. She brought him into a tight hug. "You're okay!"

"Too…tight," he choked. She released him, rubbing the back of her head apologetically. "And of course I'm alive. What the heck did you think happened?"

The psychic feline watched as both of his friends either chuckled weakly or looked away. "…Okay, seriously, what happened?"

"Drexel fixed the orb," the flower-like pokémon murmured, "there was a flash, and we were back to normal, but when we looked for you or Diancie…"

"Diancie!" the meowstic shouted as he jumped to his feet, "where is she?"

"She's fine." Drexel folded his arms, settling his gaze on the large window with a knowing smirk. "She returned to normal once the orb was fixed."

Aldous perked up at the words. "Then that means that the Tower of Geoma has been restored? The natural disasters will cease?"

Drexel nodded. The feline jumped to his feet excitedly and danced around. As victorious as they were in that moment, they knew that the real fight would only be beginning.

After a moment of enjoying their victory over the tower, Fiona cleared her throat. She looked off into the distance, silently telling her friends that it was time to move on. Drexel put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly and nodded.

"Let's get going," Aldous said from behind the couple. "We need to return to Team Cosmic's base."

* * *

This has to be the longest chapter that I've written for the entire story... Anyway, I hope you enjoy the long chapter! I hope to have part 2 of Team Solar Spiral's up soon! Please leave a review of what you think so far! :)


	24. The Tower of Spirals Part 2

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 23: The Tower of Spirals Part 2

\- Tower of Spirals, Level 2 -

Rumi marched ahead of her group proudly. What was once a cowering, cowardly eevee was now a confident sylveon. It was almost scary how confident she felt after her transformation. There were still some doubts in her, but as she looked at her friends, she felt even those doubts go away.

She knew that there would always be a part of her that would dread her departure. But she also knew that her friends would always be by her side. And that was reassuring enough.

To take her mind off of those depressing thoughts, she began calculating what she expected to happen when they entered the room with the orb. She was expecting a boss fight since she had several experiences like it in the past. She was more than certain that her team could overcome the boss battle, but she felt a little unnerved. There was a selective range of pokémon in the tower - from fairy-types to ghost-types. Just what was the boss pokémon going to be?

Her ears flicked in the direction of the conversation happening between her two friends behind her. Nova was bantering Donte about her new looks. Donte pleaded with the dragon/flying cotton ball to drop the subject, but Nova, ignoring him, continued on bantering him. Rumi watched from the corner of her eyes occasionally, chuckling at the strained face Donte was putting on. Perhaps she should assist him?

Suddenly she stopped walking. Her ears perked up; her eyes wide and alert as she examined the room. A sense of strange dread overtook her. It wasn't coming from her anxiety, which meant that it was coming from somewhere else.

Nova nearly crashed into her. "Hey, watch where your- Rumi? What's wrong?"

"You don't sense it?" Rumi asked, baffled.

Donte and Nova exchanged looks. "Sense what?"

Rumi bit her bottom lip. She was perplexed; how could they not feel it? It was so strong! Wait; was it possible only she was sensitive to it because she was a human? Did that mean that her fellow humans could feel it? She stared towards the ceiling. Or was it a connection that linked the trio together to warn them if another was in danger? She shivered at the thought.

"Rumi," Donte put clawed hand on her shoulder, "what's wrong? What do you feel?"

"Dread," she answered, lowering her head. "It's strong, suffocating. Like something bad is about to happen at any given time. I don't know the source of it, but I'm beginning to wonder if something has happened to our friends. It may be a connection I share with Celine and Drexel, but if that's the case then something horrid has happened to one of them."

Nova didn't look convinced. "What makes you say it's from them?"

"Because neither of you can feel it, and I can."

Her eyes narrowed. If something happened to one of the other humans, then they needed to complete their mission as quickly as possible. "We're going to have to make a run for it," she said, getting ready to bolt. "We need to complete this job ASAP so that we can regroup with the others." Without waiting for their answers, she took off.

She could hear their protests, but that didn't make her stop or slow down. She knew that they were capable enough to catch up to her. After all, they were faster than her. There was bound to be some tongue lashing from Donte later, but they couldn't waste a single second standing around and being idle.

Of course, there were obstacles in her path. Various types of fairy, ghost, and psychic pokémon tried to stop her. But she was able to evade all of their attacks; even sparing a few seconds to shot an attack to distract any pokémon that could've thrown her off course. She only came to a stop when she found the stairs to the next level to wait for her friends to catch up. Thankfully they weren't too far behind.

"What the heck were you thinking?" Donte castigated. "Running off like that; you could have been seriously hurt or even killed!"

"I'm not as weak as I was before," Rumi said with a flick of her head. "I can handle myself."

Donte growled. "Just because you evolved doesn't mean that you're invincible!"

She glared at him. "Don't you dare patronize me! We are wasting valuable time by walking! We need to run; we need to find the stairs as quickly as we can so we can ascend to the top and restore whatever is throwing off the balance. We need to hurry up so we can regroup with the others!"

Her anger cooled down when she noticed how shocked he looked. She was a little shocked herself, and regretted how harshly her tone sounded, but she feared the worst. Sitting down and idly pawing at the ground, she murmured, "I'm sorry."

Nova settled down beside her. She placed a cotton wing on her back and offered her a reassuring smile when Rumi looked at her. She gazed back to Donte. Her gaze was apologetic, and she searched his eyes for any clues of forgiveness. She couldn't tell him the whole truth behind her sudden rashness. She couldn't tell him that she feared she might have caused this sudden dreadful feeling.

She'd been thinking about it since her evolution; the words that she had said to Celine on that night. The words of a coward who deemed her love to be wasteful. She feared those words left Celine feeling like her relationships were futile.

Donte released a sigh and rubbed the top of Rumi's head. "It's fine, Rumi. I understand why you're in a hurry: you want to be a part of the action going down against the Dark Army. You're right, now lets go on."

He moved past her with a smile, Nova following after him. Rumi got to her feet, but with a frown etched on her face. That wasn't why she wanted to rush this at all.

-x-x-x-x-

\- Tower of Spirals, 3rd level -

From his dark room, a figure watched the team through a floating ball of light as they ascended to the third level of his tower. His head was leaning against the palm of his hand as he examined the team through calculating eyes. His gaze was fixated on Rumi. She particularly interested him.

He watched her as she moved to the sides of her partners. There was a silent form of communication going on between them. After giving them a curt nod, the group was either flying or running down the halls. He chuckled; they must've been in a rush to find his room. The male pokémon only smirked in anticipation. He was looking forward to their fight. He planned to test their wits.

The ball of light zoomed in on Rumi. He inspected the bracelet around the wrist of her paw. He would recognize that item anywhere, but it puzzled him to see why someone like her held one. His eyes narrowed. This must've been one of the human-turned pokémon that Icy warned him about some time ago.

As the ball of light flickered out of existence, he turned to examine the meshed pink and purple orb. There were several large cracks on it.

He wondered: why did the human turned pokémon feel obligated to stop his longtime friend and her father? Weren't they aware that her father was in the right?

He fondly remembered the day she'd told him about the human turned pokémons appearance.

-x-x-x-x-

"We have confirmed the presence of the human turned pokémon called from the other world to stop us," she had told him, intertwining her clawed fingers as she leaned forward on her desk. "Be wary, as they will most likely come to the tower you guard as soon as they discover its location."

He'd settle in his chair, seemingly unafraid of the grave news. She was baffled by his relaxed posture. "Are you taking this seriously?"

"Of course," he told her, "but I see no reason why you should fret."

He saw skepticism pass through her face as she stared at him, patiently waiting for an explanation. He chuckled and leaned forward in his chair. "You should know by now, my old friend, that defeating me is near impossible."

"I would not underestimate them, if I were you. They've been known to show their true force when provoked."

He feigned mock hurt, but smirked as he leaned back in his chair. "I'm hurt that you have such little trust in my abilities."

With a sigh, she shook her head and rubbed her temples. "It's not that I don't have faith in your abilities. In fact, I know you're very strong, but they've repeatedly shown us that they can be stronger if pushed."

"Are you referring to Team Poisonix's' constant failures?" he asked. "No offense, but I don't believe it would take much to defeat those idiots."

"Yes, I am referring to them," Icy said, her glare sharpening. "And I do take offense to that since it was I who recruited them. Nonetheless, I have moved them to spy missions. They are keeping tabs on the human turned pokémon as we speak."

He chuckled. He knew that Icy had an eye for talent, but he was disappointed with the outcome. He should've told her to pick that other team…

"Regardless of how incompetent they are does not change a thing. These humans will come after you. I will try to stop them in their advances when they are in Sparkling Grove," she answered, collapsing back into her chair. "They are on their way there to retrieve the mega stones and bracelets."

He raised an eyebrow. "The mega bracelets of legend? They exist?"

She nodded. "Yes. I don't know if I'll be much of a match against them, but father will be nearby. If he senses anything off, he will retrieve me and we will retreat for the moment. I do hope it doesn't come that though."

"However," she continued, "if I should fail, then that means they will continue on their missions to the towers. As I have told you, I have no qualms on how strong you are. I'm already aware that you're our second best fighter in this facility. But you are still friend to me, and I worry. I don't want to see you get hurt because of my failures. Which is why I request that you follow this one order: if things become too rough, I _demand_ that you get out of here immediately."

He got off the seat and walked to the door, but before leaving, he flashed her a reassuring smile. "Thank you, Lady Icy, for your concern. I will do as you have requested _if_ it comes to that."

-x-x-x-x-

As he left memory lane, he summoned the orb and examined the team again.

In all honesty, it warmed his core to know that his old friend worried over his welfare. It just came to show that she did value their friendship as much as he did. The thought of it made him smile: the second-in-command of the Dark Army, the stone-cold, emotionless weavile _cared_ about _him._

His smile faded. He examined the approaching group of teammates through narrowed eyes, his convictions solidifying. This particular group of pokémon had caused her so much trouble and so much grief. Now, here they were, in his tower to try to stop him.

He thought about what would happen if he failed. They would restore order to this tower and then go after Icy. They would hurt her, and destroy the dream of her father. He gritted his teeth at the thought of them harming Icy. The very thought of it made his skin crawl and blood boil.

With a snap of his fingers, the orb in front of him disappeared. His eyes flashed, his psychic powers lifting the two spoons that rested beside him and into his waiting hands.

If they wanted to stop his friend, then they were just going to have to deal with him first.

And he didn't plan on letting them by easily.

-x-x-x-x-

\- Tower of Spirals, 3rd level -

Rumi jumped into the air, twisting her body to avoid the psychic blast. The second she landed she immediately started running to avoid the oncoming attacks. Stopping, she charged up a shadow ball to counter her enemies' own shadow ball. She jumped back the moment the two balls impacted to create a mini explosion.

She didn't have much time to rest, however, as her species' psychic cousin rushed through the smoke and towards her. Rumi growled and lowered her stance, wind beginning to stir around her. She unleashed the full blunt of the attack into the espeon's face when it got close before, successfully knocking it away.

The espeon shook its head, growling at Rumi as its eyes flashed. Rumi felt the familiar tingle of psychic energy constraining around her. She remained firm in her stance until she felt the energy shoot at her, jumping into the air and summoning five star-shaped rays to attack the espeon.

She wasn't expecting the sudden grip that took a hold of her, immediately throwing her down into the ground. She felt the wind get knocked out of her as whatever pokémon had attacked her landed on her before scrambling off. A second later, she felt something wrap around her and lift her off the ground.

Just as quick as it had grabbed her, the force was gone and she collapsed back on the ground. Raising her head she watched as Nova and the pokémon that had grabbed her collided into the wall. "Nova!"

Nova reemerged from the smoke, dodging a sudden burst of intense fire. The pumpkin pokémon, gourgeist, also emerged from the smoke. Rumi would have helped, but a psychic ray narrowly missed her. She spun around to see Donte down on the ground, and the grumpig he'd been facing off stalking towards her.

"Rumi, behind you!" Rumi turned her head just in time to see the espeon crash into her. She slid across the room to the feet of the grumpig. She tried to scramble away from the pig-like pokémon to create some distance between them, but she was lifted off the ground and repeatedly slammed into the ground.

She could vaguely hear the cries of her friends as the grumpig finished slamming her against the ground. The world was blurry all around her. She could faintly see the silhouettes of the espeon and the grumpig as they hovered over her. Suddenly, they disappeared and she felt a strong gust of wind. A few minutes later, she saw two more silhouettes hover around her. One of them picked her up and cradled her.

"Rumi? Rumi!"

"D-donte…?" she murmured. "Is that you?"

"It is," his voice responded.

"I don't feel so good…" she moaned, wincing at the slightest movement.

"Don't we have anymore Oran Berries?" she heard him ask Nova.

"We do, but we're running low. This battle really did a number on the supplies. Actually, this _floor_ has been draining them! The pokémon here are so active and aggressive!" Nova said as she reached into the bag she was carrying to bring out two Oran Berries.

"Tell me about it," he grumbled, giving the Oran Berries to Rumi. He placed her down gently, keeping an eye out on the surrounding areas. "At this rate we won't have any supplies left for the last floor."

Nova light up considerably. "Speaking of which, I found the stairway! That mean gourgeist I was facing sent me flying through that hallway," she pointed to one of the nearby hallways, "and I crash landed near the stairs! How convenient is that?"

Her face fell. "There was something off though. I'm not as smart or sensitive to the environment around us like psychic-types, but I was getting a weird vibe near the stairways. I don't know what you'd call those strange feelings."

"That's called instincts," Donte said.

She stared at him blankly, and then giggled. "Okay, then my _instincts_ were telling me something was off."

He sighed. With a small smile, he shook his head. "You're so weird, Nova."

"Thank you!"

Their attention moved back to Rumi who was struggling to get to her feet. "If I was still a human, I'd be dead right now!"

"Pokémon have a lot more resilience than us," she explained, noticing the strange look she was getting from Nova. "Something like what I just experienced would've killed a person - instantly, in fact. Anyway, I heard you saying something about the stairs?"

Donte was taken aback. "Rumi," he began, "you can't be serious. You're still injured!"

She shook her paw dismissively. "I'll be fine. Those Oran Berries really helped."

He didn't look convinced. She laughed nervously and walked past him to demonstrate that she was just fine. She even jumped and did a backflip and landed it gracefully to prove that she was fine. Still not convinced, he stretched out one of his wings an turned towards her.

She watched him curiously, confusion written all over her face. She yelped and ducked when Donte suddenly flew towards her with his wing still outstretched. Hunched on the ground, she blinked in surprise. Did Donte just try to attack her?

Rumi was about to yell at him, but the instant she stood he attacked her again. She jumped into the air to avoid the razor-sharp wind that was aimed at her. While in midair, she noticed Donte had fired a dragon pulse attack her way. She charged up a shadow ball and countered the attack. As she landed on the ground, she winced from the pain springing up her back leg.

"Rumi!" She shot her head up to see Donte's wing stopped right above her head. She stared it in wide-eyed disbelief, instinctively hunching down a little.

Donte tucked his wing away, keeping his eyes locked on Rumi. She was still staring at him in disbelief.

"You're injured," he said. "I saw you wince when you landed on your leg. I was going easy on you, Rumi, but the boss of this tower won't. She or he will be attacking you with everything they got. If you can't stand against my weakest attacks, then you have no hope of standing against the boss."

She seemed to finally shake herself out of her shock. "Yeah, but at least I'll be expecting the boss to attack me! I wasn't expecting _you_ to attack me!"

He shook his head. "I'm just looking out for you. I won't stop you if you want to face against the boss, but I'm going to tell you this _right_ now," he leaned towards her, saying each word slowly, "the minute I believe it becomes too much for you, I'm grabbing you and we're retreating."

Rumi narrowed her eyes and snorted. Flicking her head into the air, she walked past him. "I won't be retreating by any means."

Donte said nothing and followed after her. Nova hesitated, but soon followed. She had a bad feeling about this.

-x-x-x-x-

\- Tower of Spirals, 4th level -

Rumi felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up the second she stepped into the large room. She was scanning the shadows carefully, her ears perked in high alert. Her eyes settled on the pink and purple orb hiding in the back of the room. Her first instinct was to run over to it, but she stopped herself.

Donte was right beside her. "It's dark in here."

"There's definitely something or someone here," she said. "The air is tingling with psychic energy. I'm not sure if that's from the orb, or from the pokémon guarding it."

Nova stopped behind the duo. She was feeling that horrible sensation again. She remained quiet, thinking that they could feel it too. But when they said nothing and continued to examine the room, she began to have her doubts.

She'd been so focused on her two teammates and her weird feelings that she never noticed the faded figure behind her. The figure outstretched their hand, the dim light of the room revealing a spoon slightly bending as the pokémons eyes glowed. Nova's eyes also began to glow in the same eerie color. The figure chuckled and vanished into the darkness.

Hearing the faint chuckle, Rumi spun around. Besides Nova, she didn't see anyone else. She tilted her head when she noticed that the cotton bird held her head down. "Nova?"

_Kill them,_ the voice whispered in Nova's ear. Nova lifted her head slowly, a low, white mist beginning to overtake the room. Surprised and suddenly wary, Rumi backed away with her ears held back in alarm. "Nova? What's wrong?"

The mist quickly covered the room, making it hard for Donte and Rumi to see their surroundings. "Donte!" Rumi cried, fear gripping her mind.

He responded a moment later, "Be careful; there's something wrong with Nova!"

_I gathered that much, _she thought bitterly, keeping an eye on her limited view space. Suddenly, something flew at her and knocked her into what she believed was a pillar. She fell to the ground, coughing from the unexpected attack. She shot her head up, scanning the area again. _Damn, I can't see what angle they come from! _

An idea struck her. Getting to her feet, she called out, "Donte, use your wings and clear away this blasted mist!"

"I don't think he'll be able to hear you," a voice whispered from behind.

She yelped and jumped away from the pokémon. Standing behind her with a satisfied smug look on his face was an alakazam. His arms were crossed as he regarded her. Standing on either side of him were her teammates. Both of their eyes were glowing in an eerie light. "Hello Rumi."

Rumi's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

"It's not very polite to be asking who I am when you haven't introduced yourself to me! Ahh, but no need - I know all about you and your little team," he chuckled. "Though I was expecting your team to be a little more harder to control."

Her eyes darted from him to her teammates. "What have you done to them? If you hurt them, I swear-"

"Oh goody! I know this punch line! You'll hurt me, right? But how will you do that?" He beckoned to her friends. "When it won't be me you'll fighting; it'll be them!"

"I refuse to hurt them!" she yelled.

He shrugged, indifferent. "Then I guess checkmate."

"Checkmate?" she questioned. "Are you saying I can't save them from your mind control?"

"I don't see how you can," he snickered. "You aren't a psychic pokémon. You're a fairy-type and can be easily brushed aside if you do not fight for your life."

She snarled. "Why are you doing this? Are you the guardian of this tower?"

"No," he said. "I already… eliminated the guardian. So, technically, I guess you could say I am now. As for my motivation," he said, his voice low as his eyes darkened, "you're a threat to a friend of mine, and I promised her that I would get rid of you should you dare to enter this tower."

_Friend?_ She thought, watching both him and her teammates. Could it be Icy? That seemed to be the most logical answer. The weavile, after all, was the one who attempted to stop them at Sparkling Grove. It was only thanks to Jirachi that nothing bad happened.

"Does your friend happen to be a weavile?" she asked.

She noticed his eyes grow darker, pure hatred filling his irises. "I figured. Why are you guys so hell-bent on destroying pokémon like my friends and me? We were called down from _our _world and into _yours!_ We're here to help, not hurt you!"

He said nothing. She knew she was treading on thin ice. Her heart was rapidly beating; at any given moment, her friends could attack her and possibly kill her. She wasn't thinking how she would counter that; she was more focused on the one controlling them. "I don't understand why you and others hate us when we are simply trying to help your world."

"Yet you stay and cause more drama," he growled. "You _humans_ are too weak of heart. Called down to our world, but once that mission is fulfilled you stay and think you're one of us. Well, let me tell you something: you aren't. You'll _always_ be a human! One of these days you will be the destruction of our kind!"

His answer caused the fairy-type to flinch. "How will we be the destruction of you when we're trying help you?"

"Your presence," he answered. "It's an abomination in our world and it's upsetting the balance!"

Again, she flinched. How was she supposed to counter that? Her mind was racing for answers, but nothing was coming up. Her lack of an answer only infuriated the pokémon before her.

"You may have thought that pokémon forgot the oppression you placed us under thousands of years ago, but we haven't, or at least _some_ of us haven't. You enslaved us, abused us, _killed us, _and when your kind _finally_ vanished from our world, we experienced _true _freedom. We were free, happy, and finally had destinies of our own to chase without the inference of your kind. But then your kind appeared again. Not in the forms you previously held, no, you took on our forms…an insult to our kind! You infiltrated our kind and pretended to be one of us. After that first abomination 'saved' our world, they were dubbed as some form of hero," he snarled, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. "Now you abominations come more often and dub yourselves as heroes. We were just doing just fine before _you_ came!"

"But we won't just sit by idly and watch as you come to _our_ world to poison it again. We will fight and kill you off, one by one," he said. He began stalking towards her. She could feel the psychic energy in the air about to burst. Panicked, she tried to think of someway to get out of this.

"We aren't all like that!" she yelled. "There are two sides to everything!"

He stopped in his tracks. She backed away slightly, continuing. "There are good humans and there are bad. I can't believe that all humans were evil; there had to be some that fought for you! People that _cared_!"

"Humans aren't passionate beings!" he snapped. "They're excellent actors; acting as if they care, but they always have ulterior motive! Most of the time they betrayed the very legendary pokémon that helped them! They would capture them, and force them to fight against their own kind! All to be the very best."

He picked his pace up. His hands were tightly gripped around the spoons that he held, his rage engulfing every fiber of his being. "There are no such things as a good-natured humans, or human-turned pokémon!"

"And what about Icy?!" she snapped, her own anger finally giving away. He froze in his steps. "If all human turned pokémon are nasty, evil lurkers, then that includes the very pokémon you're trying to protect! Or has she not told you the truth? The truth given us by Jirachi herself!"

"What truth?" he said. Was she seriously going to try to turn him against Icy? His very own best friend?

"Icy isn't who you think she is. She's just like us – a human turned pokémon!" she said each word carefully, growing louder as she spoke.

She saw the disbelief etch itself on his face. He began muttering, "No, that's a lie. She isn't like you at all."

"Or is it?" she asked, making him look at her. Her eyes were narrowed. She remembered the bruises and scars inflicted on her friends by Icy. She remembered how Icy had boasted how she would kill them; all plans thwarted by Jirachi. "She was dragged into this world a very long time ago. It was an accident. Jirachi was attacked when she tried to summon humans to your world. She never told us why she was summoning humans to begin with, but when she was attacked she lost focus and brought a human child to your world. Do you know who that human child was? It was Icy!"

"YOU LIE!" he screeched, the psychic energy finally bursting. She felt invisible limbs grabbed around her neck and lift her off the ground. She struggled, clawing at the invisible limbs. "How _dare_ you place her in your disgusting category! She is nothing like you!"

She gasped, her lungs longing for air. As the grip on her throat tightened, she spared one final glance to her friends. They were still standing there emotionless. She felt her heart sink and tears build up in the corner of her eyes. As she closed them, she felt warmness spread throughout her body. So this was what death felt like.

Alakazam, despite the wide, crazy grin on his face, was confused. Was what this human-turned pokémon said true? Was that why Icy hadn't answered his call a few nights ago? She always answered his telepathic calls, but she hadn't that night. He figured it was due to work, but now he was having second thoughts. Was it possible she'd known this all along? If this human-turned pokemon's words were truth, then why was she attacking her fellow kindred? And more importantly, was there anyone who knew the truth and could confirm it?

Indulged in his own thoughts, he hadn't noticed his control over Donte slipping. Donte, slowly awakening from the haze he was placed under, shook his head to clear away the haziness. It took him a minute for his mind to register the scene before him. And when it did, he was engulfed in fear.

He flew at the psychic pokémon, using the full force of his body to knock Alakazam away from Rumi. Alakazam, not expecting the impact, was sent barreling to the other side of the room. His grip on the unconscious sylveon disappeared and she unceremoniously hit the ground with a soft thud.

Donte was at Rumi's side in seconds. "Rumi," he shook her gently, "Rumi!" Alarm began to overtake him when he didn't receive any form of response. Shaking her more rougher, he grumbled to himself, "Come on, don't you dare die on me!"

His head lifted when he heard a growl. He growled back when h saw Alakazam emerge from the shadows. Alakazam looked infuriated. "You broke free from my control I see," he spoke. "Impressive, but do you think it was wise to attack _me_?"

His eyes took on an eerie glow. "Do you have _any_ idea of who I am?"

"I don't give two shits on who you are," Donte snarled.

"You should," Alakazam chuckled, "because I could kill you and your little birdie within seconds!"

A purplish-yellowish hazy beam shot past Donte's head. His eyes went wide with shock and he spun around to see Nova, still under the influence of Alakazam, stalk towards him. She was readying what looked like another dragon breath attack. Refusing to move, he sneered.

"So, instead of facing me like a _real_ pokémon, you use one of your controlled puppets!"

Despite the insulting tone behind Donte's words, Alakazam merely laughed. "I could defeat you and your team easily without any control. I just choose not to; this is far more entertaining!"

With a single flick of his wrist, Nova lunged towards Donte. He braced himself for what was to come. Donte honestly didn't want to fight against his own teammate, but he would be _damned_ if he let either of them hurt Rumi. Grabbing her by the wings, he stopped her sudden rush. He tried keeping her out of reach, but found it hard as she continued to push him forward with her sheer force. _Damn,_ he thought, sweating bullets, _don't ever underestimate the power of a ball of cotton!_

She let out a screech. Her beak began to glow, starting an onslaught of peck attacks. Donte barely managed to dodge them, but ultimately was distracted. Using this to her advantage, she ripped her wings free from him and flew up into the air.

Donte growled as he stumbled back a bit. He spared a few glances towards the smirking, smug face of Alakazam who watched the fight with amusement. Snarling out of anger, Donte positioned himself on top of Rumi. If he had to, he would act as a shield against his former teammates attacks and Alakazam's psychic onslaught.

Nova opened her mouth, a purplish-yellowish beam of haze shooting directly at him. He moved his large wings over himself and Rumi, enduring the hit. Nova continued the attack until Donte finally caved in and took the full force of the attack. He was sent flying backwards and away from Rumi. Colliding into one of the pillars of the room, he disappeared in the burst of smoke.

Alakazam, certain of his impending victory, waltzed over to Rumi's unconscious body. His smirk and delight only grew when he heard the disgruntled growl emitting from Donte as he crawled out of the smoke. "Don't…you _dare_ touch her!"

"I don't think you're in any position to be telling _me_ what to do. I'll leave you with these final words: I'll make her death quick and painless! Now, finish him my puppet!" he cackled, extending his hand towards Donte. Nova flew past him and straight at the injured noivern.

The psychic pokemon's attention turned to Rumi at the sound of a groan. She was beginning to stir. "Hmph," he scoffed, "you're still alive? No matter; I can easily rearrange that."

Suddenly there was a gust of wind propelling him away from her. He slid away from her, unaffected by the attack. Surprised, he watched as she struggled to her feet. Several star-shaped rays circled around her before immediately flying at him. He summoned up a protective barrier to block the attack.

"If you thought destroying me would be that easily," she spoke, her tone low and strangely different, "then I'm sorry to disappoint." She raised her eyes, a sadistic grin plastered on her face.

Caught off guard, he was surprised by her aura. It was completely different from before. This sensation he felt… it pulsated with a savage thirst for vengeance. He hadn't felt this sensation when he battled against her earlier and it unnerved him slightly.

"Where was this brutality earlier?" he taunted, a mask to hide his shock.

She giggled. "My, were you seriously fooled by such a front? I'm disappointed, Mr. Psychic pokémon," she leaned forward, her grin growing, "I thought you were able to see through such an obvious mask."

"Piss me off good enough," she said with a flick of her head, "and you get the honor of feeling the full force of my attacks!"

He braced himself for her attacks, but instead he watched her jump back and on top of Nova. Her eyes flashed and the cotton-bird pokémon was forced to the ground. Taking on a crescent-colored form, she leaped into the air and released the force. It slammed against Nova, effectively knocking her out. Landing gracefully not far away, she turned to Alakazam.

"You would attack your own teammate?!" he exclaimed in total shock.

"I would," she said, "to take her out of _your_ grasp."

She was standing tall in front of her two fallen comrades. Donte, barely conscious from the onslaught of dragon-type attacks he'd endured from Nova, was surprised to see the blurry outline of his leader. When the blurriness faded away, he was even more surprised to see that the wounds on Rumi's body were gone. That's when it struck him – she hadn't been knocked out earlier, she'd been sleeping! It was a trick he'd seen before back during their first few missions.

It didn't take Alakazam long to figure it out too. He chuckled. "Wonderfully executed."

"Thank you," she smiled earnestly. "I thought so too."

She tilted her head, looking as if she was thoughtful about something. "Should I go full force, or should I test out _this_ beautiful thing?" She lifted her paw for emphasis.

Alakazam immediately became alarmed and got into a fighting stance. She laughed at his reaction. "And here I thought you weren't so easily intimidated!"

He scoffed, but said nothing.

"You've pissed me off," she stated, "and on more than one occasion today. You took control of my teammates and threatened to use them against me, then you force two of them to fight and attempt to kill off each other, and finally, you were delusional enough to believe that you had a chance of killing _me._ All crimes that have yet to be accounted for."

"Now that you're healed, you think you have a chance against me?" he asked. "Aren't you just the cocky little sylveon!"

"Oh, it's not being called 'cocky,'" she said, several more star-shape rays surrounding her, "it's called being confident!"

He teleported out of the way as she launched her attack and reappeared above her. She jumped out of the way as psychic energy slammed into the ground. Opening her mouth, she summoned a shadowy blob and hurled it at him. His arms took on a bright light as he slashed the attack away from him, causing a minor explosion. He came flying out of it and landed beside her.

_Crap!_ She braced herself for the psybeam. The attack hit the side of her and sent her sliding back. She shook the attack off and jumped away from him. She used her fairy wind to help create more distance between them. Unfortunately, it didn't do her much good as he used his teleportation to get beside her in seconds.

Toxic swirled around her as she stopped dead in her tracks. There was no way she'd be able to keep the distance between them. So, she decided to take the battle to a close proximity match. She shot the toxic after him followed up with a moonblast. Smoke covered the area around him.

She gasped as she was lifted off the ground. She felt the psychic energy begin to suffocate her. From the corner of her eyes she saw him walk out of the smoke, purple substance dipping off of him. He had both hands extended with the spoons bent.

_I won't be so easily defeated!_ She thought, her eyes flashing. She vanished from his sight completely, surprising the psychic pokémon, and reappeared moments later when she slammed her body against his. The impact caused him to slide away from her and eventually forced him down to one knee.

He snarled at her. She snarled back in response. Crescent light began to surround her as she prepared herself for another moonblast attack. A sudden explosion of pain interrupted her. She cried out, almost collapsing as electricity sparked around her.

Her eyes went wide when she realized she couldn't move. She tried moving her muscles, but they refused to listen to her.

Alakazam righted himself, his chuckling gaining her heated glare. "I'm impressed; I guess you aren't so bad at fighting after all. And here I thought that you weren't worth my time. However, that still didn't matter in the end, now did it?"

_Thunder wave,_ she thought bitterly. "It only tells me that you paralyzed me because I was kicking your butt."

He scoffed and waved his hand dismissively. "Think what you will."

Her eyes narrowed into slits. "So, you never told me – what makes Icy so special that you don't hate her? Or did you never know the truth?"

That immediately got his attention. He growled. "Don't you _dare_ say she is anything like you monsters because she isn't. She isn't a hu-"

"Human turned pokémon?" she interrupted. "I hate to break it to you, but she _is._ Jirachi herself told us the truth! Icy is one of us."

"Jirachi?" Alakazam breathed.

"It was an accident," she explained. "She was brought to this world after a turn of unfortunate events. Whoever your master is must have found her and raised her with this knowledge. You can kill me, but it won't change the truth!"

Alakazam found himself at a loss of what to do. What this human was saying… was it really true? It couldn't be completely false; he'd noticed odd behavioral patterns concerning Icy. He always brushed it off though. He didn't think it meant anything, but the more he thought about it, the more he began to wonder.

"Do you understand now?" asked Rumi. He said nothing. She took it as a chance to continue speaking, "You're being hypocritical if you're after the annihilation of _all_ human turned pokémon."

He looked away. The need for the truth was beginning to eat at him. He _needed_ to know. If it was the truth… if she knew. He shivered at the thought of her knowing, but never telling him. Sparing Rumi one last glance, he came to a decision.

He would let her go for the time being.

"I'll spare you this time," he spoke, "but the next time we meet, I will destroy you." And just like that, he vanished.

Rumi remained on high alert until Donte placed a paw on her shoulder. She looked at him, half expecting him to be under Alakazam's influence. When she noticed his eyes were normal, she let out a sigh. "We got our butts kicked, didn't we?"

"Not necessarily. We kicked each others butts."

She half grinned. Donte pulled out a Cheri Berry and handed it to her. She ate it gratefully, nodding to Nova. "Is she okay?"

"She'll be fine," he said. "What about you?"

Rumi lowered her head. "Crappy. I was expecting a hard fight, but I wasn't expecting _that._" She eyed his wounds with a frown. "Are you going to be able to get out of here okay?"

"Don't worry about me," he smirked and flexed one of his wings. "It'll take much more than that to bring me down."

"Good," she said, limping towards the orb. "Pick up Nova. We're leaving as soon as I handle this. We need to get back to the others pronto."


	25. A Tacticians Vow

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 24: A Tacticians Vow

Lizette was in her room sitting in between two rather large piles of crumbled up paper. She was scribbling down something in the notebook on her lap, pausing briefly to review it halfway through. With an agitated hiss, she ripped the paper out and crushed it. Tossing it across the room, she growled. "This won't work either!"

Rubbing her temples, she stared at the piece of paper sitting in front of her. It was a list of facts that she needed to keep in mind for the upcoming battle. Two injured, with a possible third, pokémon, no layout of the palace, and a strong suspicion that the boss of the castle was the legendary pokemon, Zekrom. With that much in mind, she needed to find a way where everyone could sustain little to no injuries. Unfortunately, it didn't matter what angle she looked at it from - this fight was going to be brutal and there was no telling what could happen.

Thus leading her to stay confined in her room after the fight that occurred earlier that morning in order to conjure up a plan. It was now a little after 2pm.

Drexel, Fiona, Rumi, Donte, Celine, and Aiden were all key factors to the battle. She wasn't sure how they'd activate the mega evolution, but she knew that it would definitely be the key to their success. She worried, however, that due to Aiden's injuries he'd be unable to mega evolve. The task of rescuing the kidnapped pokémon and defeating the Dark Army fell on the lucario's and delphox's shoulders. Without knowing how their leadering was fairing was beginning to worry the meowstic. What if she was too injured to fight? What if they were unable to defeat their opponent?

Mentally exhausted, the feline collapsed back onto her bed. She pulled her paws over her eyes. The members of Team Pokéstars and Echo Hearts insisted on coming. Even with the hope that Team Invincible Hope and Solar Spiral would return, the fight was still going to be brutal. They were fearless, ready to jump into the fangs of danger without a moment's hesitation.

_Which was why they needed to be prepared for it_, she thought.

She was perfectly aware that planning for their mission and its success was going to be difficult, but she had never expected it to become _this_ difficult. There were too many possibilities, too many unknowns. Someone could _die_ if she wasn't able to predict those unknowns!

Groaning, she turned to her side. She felt so stupid. The solution to all her problems was probably something simple.

Her ear flicked in the direction of the door. There had been a small shout and quiet chattering going on in the other room. Had the others returned? She debated on whether or not she should investigate, but immediately brushed it off. _No,_ she thought angrily, _I refuse to leave this room. It's my job to give them hope, and as thing stand, I have nothing to give them. I won't leave this room until I've got something that can help us!_

With strength renewed, she forced herself back up and glared at the piece of paper sitting innocently in front of her. She started jotting down anything that came to mind. She was determined to contribute to her team. Their lives were in her paws, and she needed to make sure everyone would leave that place alive.

While she worked feveriously to conjure up a master plan, there was a celebration occurring in the living room. Jaxon was jumping up and down happily, holding onto the paw of the now awakened arcanine. She was watching him confusedly, listening to his endless questions and rambling.

It took her a bit to realize that she'd been under the sleeping spells influence for a while. When that realization came she immediately understood why Jaxon was so glad to have her back.

"I was so worried," he rambled, using his tail to wipe away a stray tear, "I wasn't sure when you were going to wake up, or if you were ever going to wake up. I was left all alone. I didn't know what I was going to do…" He nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck. "Did you know the world seems darker when you or Nyla aren't around for my amusement?"

Despite the tick twitching above her eye, a weak grin formed on her face. She let out a sigh and rubbed her face against his. "Stop crying," she murmured. "It's unfitting to see the supposedly strong willed co-leader of Echo Hearts crying."

He chuckled awkwardly as the familiar goofy grin plastered itself on his face.

"Drexel or Rumi must've completed their mission," Silver said, relieved to see Kalista awake now. He could imagine the awakening of countless others who'd fallen under the same spell and how happy their loved ones must be at that moment.

Kalista cocked her head. "Drexel? Rumi? Who are they?"

"Well…" Jaxon began with a half hearted chuckle. "You kinda missed a lot while you were taking your beauty nap." She shot him a glare and he jumped back defensively. With some help from Silver, he told her the story.

While he was explaining what happened during her time under the spell, Zoroark and Grovyle were keeping an eye on Aiden. He stood beside the window, silently watching the sky. His expression was unreadable; his silence was a total contrast to his earlier eagerness. He had barely acknowledged the arcanine's awakening.

"Think he'll be stable enough for the mission?" Grovyle whispered.

Zoroark eyed the grass-type from the corner of his eyes. Returning his gaze to Aiden, he released a quiet sigh. "I don't know. It's a possibility." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "He looks fine now, but we both know that will change when we get there."

"That just makes me wonder if he'll listen to reason when it comes down to it."

"I hope that Lizette is making some form of a backup plan in the event he isn't stable," Zoroark murmured. "Out of everyone here, she knows him best."

Grovyle remained silent. His shoulders sagged as he released a sigh. "Things will already be difficult enough when we get there. I pray he'll at least have some common sense."

"Is the mighty futuristic thief getting cold feet? How surprising," Zoroark smirked. Grovyle glared at him from the corner of his eye.

"I am not getting cold feet," he growled in defense. "I've been in the heat of battle for most of my life. I'm used to this type of atmosphere."

"And, while I'm at it," he continued, "for someone whose duty is to supposedly keep watch over the humans, you aren't very good at your job. I never saw you in the future when I first met Anna, and I know for a fact we were never approached by someone as suspicious as you."

"Ever heard of being inconspicuous?" the dark-type countered. "My kind does not show its true face to the human nor to their partners. Our _duty_ is to watch them from the shadows, and take the form of another to test their will."

"I remember no test."

Zoroark chuckled. "Perhaps you did not need it. You did say the future you knew was daunting, did you not?"

"Yes, but -"

"Then every mission you and Anna ever did was a test in itself. The future Guardian saw no reason to approach either of you since the two of you were doing well under the pressure." He sent a glance his way. "Perhaps you two had already been deemed worthy and strong."

Grovyle eyed him, but said nothing. Zoroark chuckled when the grass-type turned away. "It is how we have remained hidden for all these years."

The chatter in the room died down when the sounds of a door opening and closing echoed throughout the house. They all looked towards the hallway, expecting Lizette to walk into the living room to notify them she was done with her plans. Instead of Lizette, however, a trio of familiar pokémon appeared. Drexel, Aldous, and Fiona were all standing at the entry of the living room proudly. Save for a couple of bruises, scratches, and strange new scarfs, they looked relatively unharmed.

Jaxon eyed the scarves. Around Aldous' neck was a dark blue scarf with the ends colored white. In the center of the scarf was a large green eye with a light green surrounding it - the symbol of a meowstic's strength as many would recognize. A similar scarf rested around Fiona's left arm; it was purple with a white, yellow, and red flower pattern. A green wing-like symbol was in the center of the scarf. And finally, a pink and dark pink meshed scarf with three shuriken symbols on in rested around Drexel's right arm.

"When did ya have time to get new accessories?" Jaxon chuckled.

"I asked a friend to design these well before we went on our mission. He caught us on the way back here. Why? Jealous?" Aldous smirked.

The electric mouse just snorted. "No. I was never the type to fancy useless scarves."

Aldous only smiled knowingly. Fiona, on the other hand, was glaring at the electric type. She opened her mouth, but quickly closed it. Oh well, they'd figure it out sooner or later.

Drexel examined the room, nodding in greeting when his eyes caught Kalista's. Eventually they settled on Aiden. "Where's Celine, and what's with the bruises?"

At the mention of Team Cosmic's leaders lack of presence, Aldous tensed. There were no signs of Lizette anywhere in the room either. But before he could jump into a frenzy, Silver spoke up. "We were ambushed by Zekrom." Aldous paled significantly. "Aiden and Celebi suffered the brunt of the damage, and Celine was captured. And calm down, Aldous, your girlfriend is fine. Lizette is in her room trying to come up with a plan right now."

Aldous snorted and folded his arms. Looking away, he was glad his fur could hide his blush. "She's not my girlfriend!" _At least, not yet anyway…_ he added mentally. Silver rolled his eyes.

"So let me get this straight," Kalista began as she carefully left the comfort of the couch, "while I was knocked out, you guys discovered two more teams with human turned pokémon. You also managed to defend yourself against this weavile named Icy and gather these strange bracelets and stones called the Mega Bracelets and Mega stones. However, while the two other teams containing the other human turned pokemon were out completing their missions, you were ambushed and suffered at least three big blows: Celebi has burns and because of the paralysis, she's still slightly numb; Aiden was knocked out and is currently suffering from tender bruises,which in my opinion doesn't sound that bad at all considering I've had worse,_"_ she said the last bit mostly to herself, "and Celine was captured, leaving all of you in a pickle as to how she's doing, how we're going to combat these odds, and waiting on the plans of Team Cosmic's tactician. That sound just about right?"

"Well, that's the short version of it, yes," Grovyle nodded.

"Alright then," she nodded her head towards Zoroark, "you guys forgot to introduce me to your new friend."

Aldous looked down towards Lizette's room as Zoroark proceeded in telling the arcanine about himself. Gaining Drexel's attention, he nodded his head towards her room. Drexel understood immediately and gave him the ok. With one final nod, he bade them a silent farewell and made his way towards her room.

He knocked, but she never answered. "Liz?" he called. When she didn't answer, he knocked again and continued waiting. Still hearing no movement or sound, he pressed his ear against the door. He could hear the sound of a paper being crumpled with an annoyed groan. _Must be working hard,_ he thought. _Perhaps I can help her. Two minds are better than one after all._ "I'm coming in, Liz."

He opened the door as silently and carefully as he could. He didn't want to disturb her at all. But, as the door opened and he attempted to sneak in quietly, one nasty glare shot in his direction was enough to tell him anything would set her off. Remaining next to the door, he stood there nervously.

"Um, hi," he said awkwardly.

"Hi," she answered quickly, returning her focused gaze on the paper in front of her. She continued scribbling down notes, completely ignoring him. But as he continued to stand there and examine the room, she grew even more annoyed. Slamming her pen down, she glared at her male counterpart. "What do you want?"

"I...wanted to help you," he said slowly. "I heard from the others about what happened while we were gone. I figured that two minds were better than one, so I thought you'd like some help-"

"This is my mission," she said almost possessively, "I can't rely on others for help."

"Did you ever stop to think that this is a mission shared by all three teams?" he asked her. She paused in her writing and eyed him from the corner of her eyes. "Yeah, I get it. Drexel and Rumi had their own dungeons and you're seeing this last dungeon being left up to your team and all, but look at the facts: we're going to be facing an _army._ What makes you think that it's a task you three can shoulder alone?"

While his words were sound, Lizette still felt the need to be stubborn. "You've already done your job. You got your team through the Tower of Geoma, did you not? Now it's my turn to guide my team through Mallowburn Palace."

Aldous scoffed and folded his arms in front of himself. "You didn't answer my question. Act stubborn all you want, but even with all your strength an army of pokémon is just too much for your team alone. What we faced will be nothing compared for what is waiting for us there."

When she didn't answer, he sighed and continued.

"Do you even have a map?" Silence. "I didn't think so. As a tactician, you know how important maps are to us."

"And where would you suggest we find one before the mission?" she demanded.

"We don't bother with the map," he smiled.

She could feel a twitch developing above her right eye. Just what the heck was he going on about? "Look," she growled, "I don't have time for your petty games. I have a job to do, so kindly _get out._"

"You're overthinking things," he continued, completely ignoring the threat behind her words. He approached her and eyed the paper in front of her. "How long have you been into planning things?"

"What are you getting at?" she snapped. "You know what? I don't have time for your nonsense, so get out!

"Improvise."

"Excuse me?"

"You're going to need to improvise," he repeated. "Not everything is going to go according to plan. Have you taken in account of the mentality of the others and how it could affect them as we draw closer?"

"I did with Aiden-"

"Just Aiden?" he interrupted, having already guessed her answer.

"Yes, but-"

"You didn't think of taking the others feelings into account because you believed that they would have a firm hold on it," he interrupted again. Feeling confident and unafraid of the dangerous aura taking over the room, he sat in front of her. He grabbed a piece of paper and began writing down things. "However, that can change quickly for some of the teams. Namely Echo Hearts and Pokéstars. Once they see their friends, they might not be able to focus on the mission; they'd put their focus into rescuing their leaders and friends."

"Furthermore," he continued, "even with my team, Rumi's team, your team, and their teams, we're still lacking in power. I noticed that some of the members of your team and others were bruised. Most, or all of us, are exhausted, but I know none of us want to wait - even if that's our smartest option."

Turning to another piece of paper he began to draw. "This battle would be too much, and it would be suicidal if we just ran in with our teams alone. We're going to need more help." He looked at her, straight in the eyes as if daring her to shoot down his proposition. "We're going to need to ask for assistance from the other teams. Teams from the headquarters."

"But…" She looked down at her work desperately. "This is _our_ mission…"

He placed his paw on top of hers. She looked at him. He offered her a smile. "Even the strongest of teams need help sometime too. I understand how you feel, but as the tactician of Team Cosmic, you need to account for your team's entire strength and weakness'. There will be times when your strength alone just won't cut it. This is one of those times."

She lowered her head. "You guys didn't need to ask for help in your missions."

"That's because we weren't facing an army."

"And that makes all the difference?"

"It does, Lizette, and you know it."

She stared at her paws, contemplating his words. Deep down she knew he was right, but she had heard the stories of the other human turned pokémon and their missions. It was always them and their team members who handled the core dungeon. No outsiders had ever helped, or at least that's how it'd been portrayed...

She eyed his drawing from the corner of her eyes. It was a mock design for a help wanted poster. She looked back at her piles of crumpled papers. With a sigh, she relented. "If we're going to take that route, then we're going to need an immediate assembly. We don't have time to spare anymore. Every second counts."

Aldous smile broadened. She looked at him with a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I just hope that everyone agrees with this plan."

"They'll just have to," he said, getting to his feet and extending a paw towards her. "It's the most logical plan we can come up with. There is no way we could ever hope to do it alone in our condition. And even if they argued that they could do it at full health, I'd still say it's debatable. Come on, let's tell the others and get this ball rolling."

-x-x-x-x-

In the corner of her newly acquired cell, Celine sat bitterly. Her body ached and throbbed with pain from the wounds she had sustained from her earlier fight. Her eyes were locked on the dull grey cobblestone of her cell. From the corner of her eyes, she could see the fire-proof bars of her cell and a trace of the psychic barrier.

In her desperate attempt to get free, she tried everything. Ranging from fire attacks to psychic attacks, nothing worked. Whenever she tried using her psychic powers, or if any of her attacks had hit the barrier, there was this strange, painful sound that filled her head. It always disrupted her and stopped her from focusing on her psychic abilities.

Eventually, she gave up.

With a soundless sigh, she brought her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs. Resting her head on her knees, she continued to stare at the wall.

She wondered about Aiden and everyone else. How were they doing? Were they okay? Did Drexel and Rumi complete their mission? Were they on their way to save her? She closed her eyes, a small smile forming on her face as she imagined an enraged Aiden coming to save her. She could see Lizette and everyone else. They were all geared up and ready for battle.

A loud clang startled her out of her musings. She glared at the passing guard who merely laughed at her. "Stupid human," he chuckled.

She gritted her teeth together, but said nothing in response. She turned away from the guard and continued to stare at the wall. Hearing him gasp, her ear flicked slightly. She turned her head, hopeful that her prayers had been quickly answered. Instead she saw Icy staring at her from the other side of her cell.

"M-madam Icy!" whimpered the guard, quickly bowing before her. "I did not hear that you would be visiting this part of the prison today!"

She didn't respond. Her eyes were locked with those of Celine who narrowed them the minute the two made contact. Icy had her arms folded firmly in front of her, her hip swaying slightly to the right as she studied the wounded fox pokémon.

"M-madam Icy?"

"What?" she asked, shifting her gaze on him.

"I-if I may ask… why are you here? Is something going on?"

"No. I only came to speak with this human," she answered. "Do you mind leaving for a while?"

"But…" he gazed nervously towards Celine, obviously not trusting her despite her being locked up. "Are you sure you'll be okay? Is it… safe to be around this abominable creature?"

She flinched slightly. Thankfully the guard hadn't noticed, but Celine had. Icy's eyes narrowed dangerous as she turned to the guard fully. An aura of superiority surrounded her as she spoke firmly, saying each word slowly and carefully, "Do you think of me so fragile?"

"N-no!" he took a step back in shock. "Perish the thought, milady!"

"Good," she snarled. "Then leave. There is no possible way for her to hurt me. I wish to speak with her_ alone_."

He nodded hastily and scrambled away. She watched him leave until he was gone from her sights. She then shifted her gaze to the cautious delphox inside. Neither said anything or moved a muscle. Celine refused to say anything to the dark/ice-type. She wasn't feeling exactly compassionate at the minute.

Icy was the first one to break contact. She shifted her eyes to the ground and rubbed her arm absentmindedly. Confused by this strange shift in attitude, Celine raised an eyebrow. The weavile opened her mouth to say something, but immediately closed it.

Eventually, she found her voice. "Why are you fighting for this world? A world you don't know; a world in which you were dragged into and away from your human family."

"Does it matter?" Celine retorted, defiant.

"It does if you want to save your kind," Icy shot back with as much ferocity. The two pokémon continued to glare at each other.

"It doesn't matter who they are - human or pokémon. They needed help, and I - along with Rumi and Drexel - are their answer. Your father threatens them and frightens them."

"He's only trying to protect them!" said Icy.

"Protect them from what?"

"The human turned pokémon, of course! They are-"

"Are what? Dangerous? Really?" Celine deadpanned. "Have you seen or heard what they've done? They have stopped meteors from crashing into this planet; saved the planet's future and prevented it from dying; stopped countless evil pokémon that wanted to rule over the weak!"

Icy grinded her teeth. She knew deep down her argument was weak, but if she couldn't believe in her father, then what kind of a daughter was she? He wanted to save the pokémon! He didn't want to rule over them! "But then they stay when their mission is complete!" she shouted. "They have a chance to go back to their world and their families, and they decline it to stay here. And by doing so, they continue to upset the balance of our world."

"How can you ask them to return to a world they have no memories of? Who's to say that their memories will return when they go back to that world?" Celine shot back. "Can you really tell them to go back and be an outsider in their own family?"

"They already are outsiders," Icy snarled pointing to one of the other cells containing a human turned pokémon. "They take the form of a pokémon to accomplish something, but their true form is that of a human."

Celine narrowed her eyes. "And what makes you any different?"

Icy flinched and took a step back instinctively as if someone had punched her. "I...I am a pokémon! I was raised as such!"

"But you're not really _one_ of them, now are you?" said Celine, watching Icy carefully. "You can try to ignore it all you want, but you're not from this world either. You're just a hypocrite."

Icy's mouth opened and closed repeatedly. She had the look of defeat written all over her face. These were thoughts she had already had. Thoughts she continued to try to put off and ignore. But she knew. She knew that they would be that outstanding gleam of truth that would forever haunt her. She lowered her head and stared at the floor, her fists balling up into fists.

"Why are you fighting for this world?" she repeated quietly.

Celine's eyes had softened. She could sense the internal struggle of the weavile. "I think the better question you want to ask yourself is: why are you fighting for a cause that you don't believe in?"


	26. Approval

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 25: Approval

Flabbergasted by the question, Icy shot her head up. She stared at the delphox as if she had grown a second head. "B-but… daddy… he…" she trailed off. She squeezed her eyes tight and looked away. Her hands balled up at her sides.

She knew for a fact that her father wasn't trying to kill anyone. He wanted to prevent that! Even with the human turned pokémon captured, he did not desire to take a life. All he wanted was for pokémon to see they didn't need the human-pokémon hybrids to solve their problems. In his own way, he was trying to tell the other legendaries who had the power to call upon the humans to stop. Not only was it inconsiderate to the humans, but it was also a low blow to their species. It was like saying that they couldn't save themselves in a time of crisis.

"You…" she began, finally finding her voice, "don't understand my daddy or his goals…"

She glared at the delphox. "You don't know the first thing about him! Instead of trying to see things from his perspective, you immediately label him as some kind of bad guy!"

Before Celine could protest, Icy spun on her heels and fled the scene. The delphox could have sworn that she had seen tears rolling down the weaviles face. Was she crying?

Celine released a sigh and leaned back against the wall. How could she see things from his perspective if he was convinced that human turned pokémon were evil? Eying the cell doors, she briefly wondered if Icy was right, or if she was merely blinded from his true intentions.

-x-x-x-x-

"And that's the plan," Aldous finished as he eyed the group in front of him. Lizette fidgeted slightly beside him, uncomfortable with everyone staring at her. "Any questions?"

Celebi raised her hand. "How soon should we begin?"

"Right now," Lizette said, clearing her throat for the third time since they entered the room. "We are in no condition to fight an army by ourselves. Even with mega evolution at our beck and call and the reassurance that Rumi and her team will return, we are still physically limited. As we are now, if we were to jump headfirst into this, we'd be knocked out immediately. Mega evolution would be then be useless."

She eyed Aiden as she chose her next words carefully. "I am aware that all of us want to go there immediately and put an end to this chaotic war, but we are _limited_. In order to save all of the pokémon and our friends, we will need to use mega evolution. It's the key factor to this mission. Legendaries are like _Gods_. We'll need to be in our best condition to fight him equally."

Jaxon jumped to his feet. "But then we'd be sitting here for weeks! We don't have that leisure."

"I'm aware of that," Lizette sighed, rubbing her temples. "Which is why I suggest we wait at least a couple of days. And," she quickly added after noticing that the group was getting ready to protest, "during this time we would be gathering extra forces. We can't be in peak condition unfortunately, so this is the next best thing. We're going to need to reserve our strength for the real battle at hand, and to do that we're going to need a lot of extra help."

Everyone exchanged looks across the room. Lizette was keeping a close eye on Aiden, half expecting him to say "Screw this!" and run out the door. She was surprised to see that he was staring back at her coolly. It unnerved her.

Thankfully, someone else had agreed with her plan.

"She's right," Drexel said. "It is a detour, but it'll be a useful detour."

Aldous smiled gratefully at his leader. Drexel nodded back in return with Fiona winking from his side with a thumbs up. Then came the biggest shock of them all.

"I also agree." Everyone turned and stared at the lucario who had spoken up. Lizette's mouth had dropped and her eyes were wide in complete shock.

"Y-you… agree?" She couldn't hide her surprise.

Aiden lowered his head. He was a little hurt that everyone had such low expectations of him. He knew that acting irrationally now wouldn't do him any favors. And it certainly wouldn't get Celine back safely either. "Why wouldn't I? I want to save Celine more than anything, but I'm not nearly as narrow minded as you think I am."

She sweatdropped slightly and chuckled. "I never said you were. I was just expecting a different reaction!"

He mock glared at her, but she could see the small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. She could feel the warmth grabbing her heart and a weight being lifted off her shoulders. She returned the smile gratefully.

Glad to have one case under control, Aldous cleared his throat. "I'm glad we're all in agreement here. To move things along, I've already designed a help wanted poster. I'm going to be heading to the headquarters to make a plea that they gather all rescue teams immediately as well as putting these posters up. If they acknowledge my plea, there'll be a meeting at least within the next two hours."

"However," he said, stopping everyone in their tracks, "while I understand that it's ideal to have the leaders and their teams there, I think it would be better if most of you stayed behind. Every minute counts, and you're all going to need to save your strength for the coming battle. So I strongly recommend that you guys stay here. I will go and I will speak for all of our teams."

Lizette scoffed and placed her hands on her hips. "I'm going with you and that's final."

"Of course," he chuckled. "I would need Team Cosmic's fiery and beautiful tactician by my side to help move things along faster."

Her fur puffed up in embarrassment and her eyes went wide. She quickly covered her embarrassment with a scoff and a quick turn of her head. Her reaction only amused him more.

Kalista stretched her legs. "I need some exercise so I'm coming with you." Jaxon nodded right beside her, his usual goofy grin back.

Aldous nodded in understanding. Turning, he went and grabbed his bag. While he was preparing for the trip into headquarters, his female counterpart approached Drexel. Her eyes were scanning Aiden, and guilt panged her heart with each step that brought her closer to the frog-like ninja pokémon. Right now, the lucario was back to staring blankly out the window. _I'm sorry,_ she thought, _but I would rather be safe than sorry knowing someone is here to watch you and make sure you don't do anything reckless while I'm gone._ "Drexel?" she whispered when she was in front of him.

He paused in his conversation with Fiona and looked down at her questionly. She smiled apologetically to the pair. "I need you to do me a favor. Can you watch over Aiden while I'm gone? I know he said he wouldn't do anything reckless, but -"

"But you would feel safer knowing that someone will make certain of that," he finished for her. She nodded slowly. He waved a hand dismissively. "I understand. I'll keep an eye on him, but don't get mad if you return and see an unconscious lucario."

A nervous chuckle escaped her as she scratched the back of her head. _And I believe you'd be responsible for that too,_ she thought. Even though she hadn't known him nearly as long as Aldous, she had a feeling he never made empty threats. She only prayed that Aiden wouldn't try anything for both their sakes.

With one last grateful nod, she joined Aldous' side as he bade a farewell to everyone. Following him besides Lizette was the newly awakened arcanine and her co-leader, and the members of Team PokéStars.

-x-x-x-x-

Lizette's arms were crossed in front of her while she watched Aldous speak with the penguin pokémon manning the front desk. The water-type was scratching the back of his neck with an uncertain look etched across his face. He was staring at the mock design of the poster laying on the desk before him. Aldous' eyes held a fierce determination. He would find a way to assemble the rescue teams. He had to, otherwise they were _screwed._

She secretly prayed that the penguin pokémon would give him the okay and call forth every available team as soon as they could. She knew there were bound to be complications, especially on such short notice, but she couldn't give up. They _needed_ this.

The feline let out a sigh, rubbing her throbbing head. Her nerves were getting the better of her at the moment. She was half aware of the hushed whispers of pokémon passing them. They were surprised to see the infamous Grovyle along with members of Team Echo Hearts and Team PokéStars there.

Slightly unnerved with the stares and whispers, she took the time to examine her surroundings. The building certainly lived up to it's name as the Headquarters of the R&amp;E (Rescue and Exploration) teams. It was a fairly modern 2 story high building with plenty of moving space. The bottom floor consisted of four rooms: the front desk, the waiting room, the reward room, and the beginners room for starting rescue or exploration teams.

While the bottom floor was open to the public, the top floor was not. It was exclusive to both the workers there and the teams that completed the missions. It served as the space where teams could meet up with other teams, or to visit the bulletin board for more missions. There were only two rooms there: the management's office, and the large meeting room where the teams would gather.

Aldous' shout startled her out of her musings. "But this is urgent!"

Looking in his direction, she noticed that he was leaned over the desk. She felt her heart drop; she expected this.

The prinplup shook his head. "I'm sorry but I have to follow protocol. I can't call for a large scale team meeting without my superior's permission. That is if they even accepted your request. And even if they did, it would at least take a week's time. Tell you what," he said, handing the mock design poster to another pokémon who quickly rushed away, "I'll have it sent to their office today."

"Then please call down your management so I can speak with them! This is an urgent matter that needs to be attended to _now!_" Aldous pleaded.

The water-type continued to shake his head. "I'm afraid I can't do that."

"And why not?"

"We've been getting swamped lately with requests for help. They're most likely busy tending to those requests right now."

Aldous facepalmed himself. "Those requests won't matter unless we get the help we need!"

Before things could get out of hand, Lizette approached the two. Aldous looked at her worriedly. She knew what he was feeling from his look. Desperation, fear, determination…

She offered her feline partner a smile before turning to the pokeémon behind the desk. "Please understand that this is a very important request. I don't think it would be too outstretched to say that our world's fate relies on this very request's success. If we wait, then our world will be in grave danger - even more than it is now. We know who is causing all these problems, and whether we like it or not, we do not have the power to do it ourselves. This perpetrator knows that we know and that we will be coming after him soon. As a result, he is gathering his armies and preparing for an attack."

"A-armies?!" he nearly shouted. He looked between the two to see if this was some kind of joke. It had to be. But to his dismay, he didn't see an ounce of dishonesty in their eyes.

The female meowstic nodded sorrowfully. "We were recently attacked by them, and our friend was captured. If this request is forced to be waited on, then there is no telling what will happen. Believe it or not, but our fate lies in the hands of three particular pokémon, one of which were captured."

Tears were threatening to spill as she whispered quietly, "So please, if you can't do anything, then fetch your management for us. We are more than prepared to give them reasons why this request simply cannot wait."

Prinplup looked between them hopelessly. After a moment or two of silence, his shoulders sagged and he turned to another pokemon in the office. He nodded towards the stairs leading to the top floor. Nodding in understanding, the smaller pokémon darted up the stairs. He looked back to the pair. "You're absolutely certain of this...?"

The felines looked at each other, then to their waiting companions. Prinplup recognized the members of the two famous teams almost immediately. He was aware that the members of Team PokéStars had come here not long ago seeking help. And by their grim faces, he was horrified to have his fears confirmed.

Moments later, two pokémon descended from the top floor. A chesnaught and pyroar. Aldous and Lizette inwardly gulped. Now it was time to convince the big dogs of the building.

Aldous was the first to approach them. His paw outstretched, he offered a weak smile. "I take it you are the head management of this building?"

It was the chesnaught that replied. "Yes. My name is Griffin, and this here is Nora." The female pyroar nodded her head in greeting. "We were told that your team has a rather urgent request that needs to be tended to right away?"

"Yes," Lizette said. She came up to Aldous' side with the members of team PokéStars and Echo hearts behind her. The chesnaught raised his eyebrow at this, but said nothing. "Perhaps it would be better if we spoke in your offices however? I do not believe we should discuss the… delicate parts of this request here." She motioned her head towards the staring pokemon.

"Come, come then," the grass-type beckoned towards the stairway. "Let us be on our way."

"So, what is your problem?" Nora said once they were finally in their office. Griffin closed the door and joined his co-manager's side.

They wasted no time in telling them about the situation. Silver and Jaxon would help Aldous with the occasional comment while Lizette, Grovyle and Kalista nodded their head in agreement. Out of everyone who was there, Aldous and Lizette were the most nervous. There was a slight chance that they would still be denied their request. They could be brushed off as some team looking for attention. Thankfully, the famous co-leaders of PokéStars and Echo Hearts were there to verify things and confirm information. It was thanks to their reputations that their request was even getting a shot.

As Lizette listened, she found herself wondering if there were going to be any casualties. The thought sent shivers down her spine. She prayed that wouldn't happen, otherwise she would feel accountable.

Similar thoughts were going through Aldous' mind as he spoke, but he kept quiet about it. He knew there were no other options. It was a difficult decision to consider, but it was better than their team going there and falling. Their fall would send the pokémon world into a neverending pit of danger. At least with other rescue teams, they had a shot to prevent whatever harm Icy and her father were going to unleash.

When he finished, he waited quietly for their answer. Each second that ticked by felt like an hour for the two felines.

"That does seem rather urgent," Griffin finally said.

"And you can vouch for these teams, Mr. Jaxon and Mr. Silver?" Nora questioned.

The two nodded their heads. "I have seen the attack on their base with my own eyes, and I am positive that if you ask around the pokémon here can confirm the explosions, earthquake and screaming heard within the past day. Furthermore," Silver motioned towards his healing scars, "I have been attacked by those who were employed to the perpetrator responsible for the kidnappings. We...unfortunately lost our co-leader, Vivian, because of that attack. She was kidnapped, and we were left for dead. Had Team Cosmic and those following them never came, Grovyle and I would not be here."

"And," Jaxon piped in eagerly, "if we didn't get help from Team Invincible Hope or Team Solar Spiral, my friend Kalista would still be under the sleeping curse! They're all back at Team Cosmic's base healing from the recent attack, or at least I hope all of them are."

"And you two are from Team Cosmic and Invincible Hope?" asked Griffin as he turned to Lizette and Aldous. Lizette drew in a deep breath and nodded.

"We're actually the tacticians of the teams," Aldous said.

Nora and Griffin exchanged looks. "Tacticians? Then, if I may ask," Nora said turning to Aldous, "have you exhausted all of your options?"

"We have," Lizette answered for him. "We found that it would be suicide to send our teams into the heat of battle in their current condition without any help - especially against someone as strong as Zekrom."

"Z-zekrom?!" the two gasped in shock and horror. "You can't possibly mean the legendary dragon Zekrom?!"

Aldous nodded. Griffin stroked his chin thoughtfully as Lizette continued on. "Yes. He attacked our base and captured our leader. We're aware that he's attempting to raise some type of army, but for what reason, I'm not sure. Based on the dreams my leader had, I have reason to believe that this army is the human turned pokémon who have been captured and potentially twisted by some kind of dark force."

Nora looked skeptical of this. "When were you guys attacked?"

"Earlier today," Lizette said, idly rubbing her arm. "Aiden, my friend and co-leader of the team, could also vouch for me in regards to her dreams. However, he has some bruises and I'm not sure if he's really in a talkative mood."

Griffin kept his eye on Lizette. She wasn't sure if she liked the way he was staring at her. It was as if he was staring into her soul. Finally, he shifted his gaze away from her and onto the paper he was holding. "We were told that our worlds fate relies on the acceptance of this request. Now, if we go over the facts, I can see a few problems. Your team was recently attacked and left you with a few injured pokémon. Plus, you claim that two other teams supporting you have returned, or will be returning from their missions. Being a former rescue team member myself, I know how exhausting these missions can be."

"And let's not forget to mention that you say your teams are the only ones capable of stopping this pokémon and saving our world," he said, pausing. "Forgive me for being rude, but knowing all of that, how do you see your team's winning against a legendary pokémon under these conditions?"

"We have our own weapon against Zekrom," she answered confidently. She raised her paw and pointed to her wrist. "Our leaders and co-leaders have the ability to push their evolution and strength to the limit. We plan to use this power to defeat Zekrom. And most of them have recovered from their injuries. All they have now is sore bruises."

"And why can't you just use this power to get through his army and defeat him?" Nora questioned.

Lizette looked to Aldous when he cleared his throat. "Because it can only last for so long. We'd waste more time and strength trying to get to him, and by the time we would get there, our reserves would be depleted. That's the drawback of mega evolution; it's only temporary and can last only so long."

He smiled knowingly to Lizette. "Lizette here went through so many scenarios for her team and their success, but was unable to find any that wouldn't end badly. When she started to consider the assistance of other rescue teams, she saw their chances of success rise considerably. That's when we decided that we should make a plea for more help."

The male feline turned to the two managing pokémon. "We want to reserve our strength for the final battle. We're hoping that other teams will help to take care of anyone that tries to stop us."

Griffin couldn't stop the smile that spread across his cheeks. He looked down to his partner who didn't share in his smile. If anything, her eyebrows were creased together in a worry line. He knew what she was worrying about, but it was all apart of being a rescue team. Turning back to the expectant teams, he nodded. "You have our approval. We will be setting up an emergency meeting. Expect it within the hour. Bring your team here."


	27. The Meeting

Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 26: The Meeting

"So, your plea was accepted?" Zoroark asked the female meowstic when she burst into the room excitedly. She'd given the dark-type fox quite a start. He was just enjoying the silence when she came into the room babbling that their request was accepted.

She nodded eagerly. "Yep! He wanted us to bring the rest of the teams there. Do you think that you'll be able to get there?"

"It's not a trek up a mountain, is it?" he asked sarcastically. "We'll survive, Lizette. It's a small walk there. The trip to Mallowburn is longer."

"But you guys need more rest and stuff..." she trailed off.

He shook his head. "We're not incapacitated, Liz. We only have bruises. The only one who got a lot of injuries around here was Celebi, and even then she's a fast healer. And before you throw a fit," he started when he noticed how red her face was getting, "she's not coming. She vouched to stay behind to catch up on some more rest."

She released a grateful sigh. Zoroark turned to examine the other teams as they prepared themselves. "I don't see how this is something to get excited over." Lizette frowned and sighed. Her shoulders slumped.

"I'm sorry. I'm just happy that we won't be facing this alone. I'm glad that a chance was presented to us to get more help. We have a chance to make this mission a success and stop Zekrom. If they didn't accept it, then we would have been in major trouble. In our condition there is just no way-"

He raised a paw to stop her. "I know Liz, I know. I perfectly understand why you did it. I just hope that there will be pokémon willing to help us. Will you be speaking?"

She frowned, uncertain. She had no problem if she was expected to. While she wasn't necessarily a fan of speaking in front of large crowds, she would put up with it. It was her obligation to inform them of the dangers that lie ahead. After all, it had been her who sought their assistance in her mission to stop Zekrom, his army, and rescue the hybrids.

A brief thought of who would join their cause popped in her head. If there were any teams that had friends who were former humans and kidnapped, the chances of them joining would be very high. Perhaps there'll be pokémon with no connections to the humans there too. It was hard to tell, and quite frankly it didn't matter. They were rescue teams and rescue teams took their job seriously regardless of their background or reasonings.

She snuck a glance over to Aldous. Because of her psychic abilities, she was able to sense that he was just as nervous and worried as she was. The only difference was that he had a better grip on hiding his emotions. While she masked her nervousness with a cheerful and excitable front, he was acting no different from his normal, natural self. She found herself admiring that quality in him.

He was currently speaking with his team leader, laughing alongside Fiona. They were nervous too, she could tell, but for different reasons. Lizette could only guess it was a situation similar to Aiden and Celine. Drexel wouldn't admit it aloud, but she had a feeling he had a soft spot for the flower-fairy type in his heart. He was probably anxious of what would happen _after_ the mission, and whether or not he would be able to stick around.

That's when it struck her. This would be their last mission, or at least for Celine, Drexel, and Rumi. Would they be forced to return to their human world? Or would they be able to stay? Her heart hoped for the latter of the two questions.

Her staring hadn't gone unnoticed. She caught Aldous looking straight back at her with a smile. She flushed, embarrassed to have been caught in her staring. She turned away from him in order to focus on something else. _Don't worry so much_, she heard his telepathic voice fill her head. The sensation was warming and comforting. _Everything will be fine. I promise._

Lizette flashed him a weak smile. She wanted to believe in those words, she really did, but… there was a part of her that felt like not everything was going to be fine.

The sound of a door opening and closing caught everyone's attention. When Lizette turned to the entryway of the living room, she saw two pokémon. Both of their presences _felt_ familiar, but neither of them_ looked_ familiar.

"Nova? Rumi?" she finally asked.

The two had different reactions. The altaria smiled weakly and nodded while the sylveon smirked and puffed out her chest proudly. "Yep! That would be us~"

Her change in demeanor had a few of the members in the room fairly concerned. Before she'd been this nervous, shy, and timid eevee. Now it seemed she was bursting with confidence. Which, in itself, really wasn't a bad thing. It was probably a result of her evolution.

Aiden was the first to notice that Rumi's shadow was nowhere to be found. "Where's Donte?"

She chuckled weakly. "Well, he's kinda big for the doorway and he didn't think breaking in through the door was such a good idea. So he voted to stay outside while we came in to check in with everyone. So what's up?"

"Congrats on the evolutions," Grovyle said, folding his arms. "You made it back just in time for a team meeting with the other teams at headquarters."

Her grin quickly fell from her face. "Team meeting? What happened?"

She got her answer when she noticed everyone giving each other a sorrowful look. There was a certain presence lacking. It only took her a few seconds to realize that Celine wasn't there among them. Her heart sank as the realization crawled its way into her brain. It all made sense now; that feeling she had experienced while they were at the tower had been pointing to this. It had been a sign that something terrible had happened.

Rumi took one look at her teammate. Besides a few scratches, Nova and Donte were okay. Rumi still had a slight limp, but it wasn't anything serious. On Donte's request, she had stayed on his back while they flew back. It gave her enough time to relax and let her paw heal.

Nova looked back to her leader. Her eyes said it all, and she had no doubt Donte would feel the same. The end was coming, and it was time. Things had spiraled out of control, and with Celine captured, it only made one thing certain: they needed to take action immediately. There was no time left to take a rest.

She glanced back to the waiting pokémon. She gave them a curt nod. "We'll be outside," she said. "I'll explain things to Donte and we will depart with you guys whenever you are ready."

Lizette offered a grateful smile. Rumi smiled back, and with one final nod, she left the room with Nova.

Now it was the feline's turn to look to the other pokémon in the room. "It's time to get going guys. We might be leaving tonight, early tomorrow morning, or in two days depending on how the others feel. So, with that in mind, be ready for anything."

-x-x-x-x-

The walk there was silent. Each of the members were holding their heads high, preparing themselves for the eventful meeting. With some luck, they would have teams willing to help. If not, then they would risk their safety to save the world. Lizette prayed it wouldn't be the latter.

When they entered the building, there were already several teams there. Griffin and Nora were already on the stage at the far end of the room. It was fairly large, used mostly for announcements and for occasions such as this. They nodded to Lizette and Aldous as they came up to the stage. Team PokéStars, Cosmic, Echo Hearts, Invincible Hope and Solar Spiral followed the two cat-like geniuses.

Griffin beckoned for Lizette and Aldous to stand behind him while Nora assigned the rest of the team to stand behind them. "Will you be announcing everything, or should we?" he asked

Aldous and Lizette exchanged looks. Lizette looked back determinedly. "We will. We were the ones that requested that this be set up, and it's only fair that we explain the severity of the situation to them." Her male counterpart nodded his head in agreement.

The shiny armored pokémon only smiled.

"You've gathered quite the crowd," Lizette said, surprised to see the room filling up fairly quickly. The male chesnaught chuckled.

"The situation called for all of local teams to attend."

Lizette and Aldous stared at him in shock. "What? _All_ of the local teams are here?!"

"Griffin, it seems that we're ready," Nora said.

Griffin smirked to the sweat dropping, nervous Lizette. "Good luck! Just tap the mic there whenever you are ready to begin."

She reached out for him, stuttered slightly as he walked away. She paused and gulped when she turned to the large crowd standing before her. She could feel her instincts screaming for her to turn and run. If she were to be honest, all she wanted to do at that moment was to curl up into a ball and hide.

Gulping once more, she looked to Aldous for reassurance. He smiled and gave her a thumbs up. _Be still my beating heart,_ she thought desperately when she turned back to the crowd. She could hear Aldous' light chuckle in her head and nearly shot him a glare.

With a sigh, she used her psychic power to adjust the microphone to her height and tapped it expectantly. Instantly the chattering in the room died down.

"G-good evening," she began, her nervousness clear in her voice. "I want to thank you all for coming to today's meeting. I can assure you all that it's for a very good reason that you've been called here today."

With one deep breath, she found her nervousness begin to fade. "We have called you here to ask for help. As I'm sure you're all aware, we have been plagued with calamities for quite a while now. The sleeping curse that puts pokémon in an neverending sleep; the horrid and unexpected natural disasters that have destroyed the homes of millions; and last, but not least, the disappearance of our fellow friends and teammates. I stand here before you today on behalf of my team to tell you that we have discovered the culprit behind these problems."

A rush of gasps and quiet murmurings filled the room.

"They found the culprit?"

"I wonder who it is?"

"Darn it! And here I thought we'd be the ones to find the culprit…"

She raised a paw to silence the chattering. As the noise began to die down, she turned to Drexel and Rumi and beckoned for them to step up. Standing on either side of her, Lizette continued on with her speech. "Thanks to the efforts of Team Invincible Hope and Team Solar Spiral, two of these three problems have all been solved. However, there remains one last problem: our friends and teammates are still missing."

She paused. Should she tell them about her leader? About the fact that Rumi, Celine, and Drexel were all former humans themselves? Would it make a difference? Would she get in trouble? She looked to Aldous for some form of answer. How would he know her internal struggle?

Biting her lip, she decided against it. It wasn't up to her to delve out that information. If they wanted it to be known, they would make it known.

"The members of Teams Cosmic, PokéStars, and Echo Hearts have all worked towards a similar goal: to find those responsible for the kidnappings and, if there was one, the pokémon who ordered for their kidnapping. Because of how close we were getting to finding out the ones responsible, we were attacked on multiple occasions. On two of these occasions, one of our friends would be captured. Vivian, the co-leader of PokéStars, and Celine, the leader of Cosmic. It was only recently that the leader of Team Cosmic was captured by the hands of the culprit himself, and it is because of her capture that I stand before you all here today.

We have decided that waiting is no longer an option. We will be marching towards Mallowburn Palace to rescue those who have been captured and defeat the culprit. We are limited in both strength and numbers, and we hope that you will march with us. All that we need is for you to distract those who would stop us. As easy as it sounds, I'm afraid it's far from the truth. Because of my leaders dreams, we suspect the culprit is building an army of pokémon. This army… will most likely be our friends twisted by some dark force. I can't explain much more than that because… in all honesty, I don't understand it either. However, I am not letting that stop me. If any of you have lost a friend or teammate to these kidnappings, then I understand if you're hesitant. There is a way to save them, I just know it. But it will take the defeat of the culprit to do that."

"Who's the culprit already?!" someone shouted from the crowd.

Lizette closed her eyes. This was the moment of truth. With one last deep breath, she opened her eyes and stared out into the crowd. She eyed each and every one of them. She wanted to make sure that they saw that her eyes were holding no lies in the information she was about to give.

"The culprit behind the kidnapping of the human turned pokémon… is a legendary dragon pokémon named Zekrom."

The room was in silence. Nobody dared to move, or even make a sound. Lizette remained firm in her stance, having expected that something like this could happen.

"You want us…" a random pokémon within the crowd began, "to fight a _GOD?!_"

"We can't possible fight someone so powerful!" someone else shouted.

"We'd be annihilated!" another agreed.

And just like that, the room went from being silence to completely engulfed with chaos. Everyone was shouting at the female feline and was declaring that she was crazy. She stook a step back in pure horror. She had expected a small outburst, but _nothing_ like this!

"E-everyone, please!" she pleaded. "Calm down!"

"Like hell we will!"

"You're nuts, lady!"

"You're basically asking us to commit suicide! If you're so bent on doing so, don't let us stop you! You can do the honors first!"

"Not only are you asking us to challenge the impossible, you're asking us to fall down with your failures! Thanks, but no thanks. I would rather live than let you drag down my team!"

"She must be a traitor!" someone shouted. She froze in her spot, her eyes widening in disbelief.

"Yeah! Traitor! You're trying to bring down the entire headquarters!"

She let out a whimper and took a step back. Several similar shouts filled the room, each more crueler than the last. A "traitor" chant was overtaking the room. Tears were threatening to spill from her crimson eyes.

From where he stood, Aldous grinded his teeth. How _dare _they speak to her like that?! He could feel the pain and hurt radiating off of her. It rocked him to his core and fueled his anger. How could they be so insensitive?! He was about ready to stomp up to the microphone to scream at them, but someone else had already beat him to the punch.

"Why don't all of you…" Aiden started as he stood in front of the microphone, "be _QUIET?!_"

The crowd silenced their chants, but kept their glares. Aiden glared back with just as much ferocity. He stood tall, his voice booming as he spoke. "None of you know the first thing about her. She came here in hopes that she would get the help she needed to help her team succeed!"

Nora was about to step up to stop him, but Griffin stopped her. She looked at him in disbelief. She wanted to prevent Aiden from causing a riot! Griffin shook his head. He had an idea of what Aiden was about to say, and it was something everyone needed to hear.

"How can any of you call yourself a rescue team? Is this what a rescue team is now? To show cowardice the minute a legendary is brought into the equation? I thought that rescue teams were supposed to be _fearless_. We all took this path because we knew the risks it would entail; we knew that sooner or later we would have the chance to face someone so strong that it would shake us to our core. But that isn't what ticks me off. What ticks me off is that all of you have forgotten what it means to be a rescue team. What it means to bear the badge!"

"Being a rescue team means that you are expected to save or help those in need," Aldous piped in. He scanned the crowd with his arms folded. "Even if the odds seemed against them, there have been few who have risen above those odds. It's those teams that risked their life that will go down in history and always will be the ideal team. Not only did they have strength and willpower, they had people to support them."

"Furthermore," Grovyle said, surprising everyone when he stepped forward. There were whisperings and gasps as the crowd recognized the infamous thief. "I don't remember Lizette ever mentioning that any of _you_ would be facing Zekrom."

The three males glared at the crowd, their words sinking in. Aldous scoffed. He had hoped for a better outcome. Closing the gap between him and Lizette, he embraced her lightly sobbing form. As he held her close, he understood the very reason why humans were called down into their world. It was because they were fearless. They had the strength to pull those around them and make a difference. It didn't matter who the pokémon they were forced to face was. Legendary or not, they would fight until the end to make their adopted home better for their loved ones.

_It's okay, _he whispered to her telepathically. She sniffled and lifted her head to look at him. The sight of tears running down her cheek only fueled Aldous' anger further. He pulled her tighter into his embrace. _Ignore them, Lizzy. We don't need the help of cowards. If they don't want to lift a paw or claw to our cause, then so be it. We will still fight. You still have me and the others. You aren't alone._

_Thank you, Aldy. _She snuggled into his embrace thankfully.

He smiled lovingly down at her. He looked to his teammates. Drexel was smirking in his direction and Fiona was winking with a thumbs up. He flushed and turned his attention over to Zoroark and Aiden. The two were whispering. Aiden looked infuriated and snorted. Storming away from the dark-fox, Aldous watched as Zoroark took his turn to stand in front of the now quiet crowd.

"We understand if you are scared. We don't look it, but we are as well. However, we can't let that stop us. Our friends are in grave danger and each second that is wasted here is a second that they endure further torture. Regardless if the former humans are your friends or not, you should be grateful. It's thanks to their sacrifices that our world is as stable as it is. There have been countless times that we could have lost it, but they stood against those who pushed them down. They stood against the wave of despair and came out victorious."

Zoroark turned to the group behind him and nodded. Lead by Drexel and Rumi, the group began to leave. Zoroark began to follow them, but paused. He closed his eyes and sighed. "We will be leaving in two days time. We will wait in front of Team Cosmic's base for half an hour. You are all welcomed to join us, if you desire it so."

With that last statement, he left the headquarters with the rest of his team.

-x-x-x-x-

Lizette's eyes drooped as she fought to stay awake. She was sitting beside Aldous in the living room, listening to the idle chatter that was going on. They were still appalled from what they'd seen and heard.

She'd been appalled herself, really. But not by how harsh the crowds reacted. No, she was surprised with how badly those words had hurt her. She could still feel the sting of their words lingering on her heart, and whispers of "traitor!" in her ears.

"Do you think anyone will come?" Kalista inquired.

There were a few scoffs in the room. Mainly from Aiden who was still fuming over the event.

"They were cowards," he said. "We'd probably spend more time saving _them_ than we would the actual kidnapped pokémon."

Celebi rose her hands in a placate matter. She'd been wide awake when the group returned, and claimed that she was feeling much better. Lizette would have thoroughly examined her, but she wasn't in the mood. "Now, now… they probably went into a panic the minute they heard Zekrom's name is all."

"Oh yes, so terrified they called Lizzy a…" Aldous pressed his lips together in a firm scowl. He refused to utter the word in her presence. "You would have needed to be there, Celebi."

The legendary grimaced. She noticed that Lizette was falling asleep. In fact, Drexel, Fiona, Rumi, and Nova all looked tired.

From the window that Donte was peeking his head through, he could see it as well. "Perhaps we should not dwell on the matter anymore. If they come, they come. We've all had a very long day. I think we should all return to our bases and get some shut eye. We have two days to rest and prepare ourselves, so let's take that chance."


End file.
